Jammu: Mobile internet, broadband services, and calling facilities remained disrupted across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday as heavy rainfall continued to batter the Union Territory, damaging optical fibre networks at several locations.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced concern over the widespread outage, describing the situation as reminiscent of earlier crises.
“Still struggling with almost nonexistent communication. There is a trickle of data flowing on Jio mobile, but no fixed line WiFi, no browsing, almost no apps, things like X open frustratingly slowly, and WhatsApp struggles with anything more than short text messages. Haven’t felt this disconnected since the terrible days of 2014 & 2019,” he posted on the social media platform X.
The disruption was not limited to private operators, as fibre and landline services provided by state-owned BSNL also went offline. With mobile phones showing no signal, residents across several districts faced hardships.
In response, the Ministry of Communications on Tuesday directed telecom operators to activate Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) in Jammu and Kashmir to address the breakdown.
The directive, issued in view of the continuing rainfall and multiple landslides, allows subscribers to connect to networks other than their own within the UT until September 2.
“In view of prevailing situations due to heavy rainfall and multiple landslides in Jammu and Kashmir UT and in accordance with the clause 29.6 of unified license & as per provisions of SOP 2020 for responding to disasters, all TSPs are hereby instructed to activate the Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) facility for the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory with immediate effect till 23:59 hrs of 02nd September, 2025 or till further instructions; whichever is earlier,” the ministry said.
The prolonged connectivity outage has added to the hardships faced by the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, already reeling under the impact of torrential rain and landslides.
(IANS)
