Border villages along China border to have high-speed internet

Ladakh's strategic remote locations including Chumar and Demchuk will soon have high-speed internet connection. The government has informed a parliamentary panel that telecom infrastructure is being upgraded in 14,708 border villages as part of the border area development plan (BADP). In an action taken report, tabled in Parliament, the panel has noted that out of 236 habitable villages, 172 have telecom infrastructure, with just 24 and 78 of them having 3G and 4G Net connectivity, respectively.

According to Union home ministry officials, efforts are being made to develop local government directory codes in 1,860 border villages, while the list of 14,708 villages have been shared with the DoT for developing telecom infrastructure.

In some areas of Demchuk, 4G services have already started, facilitating communication between jawans and their families, the officials said.


The action taken report says that the panel has recommended electrification of all villages in Ladakh, particularly those located in zero-border like Chumar and Demchuk in order to stop migration of people. "This will go a long way in fulfilling the developmental needs of these remote yet strategically important localities," the report noted. The government informed the committee that the power ministry is being requested for necessary action.

In 2020, the BADP guidelines were revised to cover villages from 0-50 km on the borders.

India and China share 3,488 km of borders, out of which 1,597 km is in Ladakh and the remaining in Arunachal, Sikkim, Himachal and Uttarakhand. Due to better telecom infrastructure and roads on their side, Chinese PLAs find it easier to patrol along the LAC. Indian border guarding forces have found it difficult to reach inaccessible areas due to difficult terrain and delay in information sharing by locals.