Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader and Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka has written to Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, urging a time-bound and reliable 4G rollout in the tribal and hilly regions of Koraput and Rayagada districts, which remain digitally disconnected despite repeated government assurances.
In his letter on Tuesday, Ulaka highlighted that persistent gaps in mobile network coverage are adversely affecting access to emergency healthcare, education, banking, livelihood services, and government welfare schemes.
“Several towers have been commissioned under the Digital Bharat Network (DBN) and Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) schemes, yet a significant number of villages remain unconnected. Many areas listed as ‘covered’ experience voice-only service or unstable data, making digital services unreliable in practice,” the MP noted.
Citing official data, Ulaka said that in Koraput, 386 of 459 planned towers are operational, leaving 89 villages out of 2,047 without mobile connectivity. In Rayagada, 546 of 700 planned towers are on air, leaving 149 villages out of 2,671 unconnected.
The MP has demanded a village-wise status report from the Ministry, indicating whether sites are under survey, awarded, under execution, or commissioned, along with reasons for delays and revised timelines. He also sought package-wise details of implementing agencies, their service-level obligations, penalties invoked, and a responsibility mapping for repeated delays.
Ulaka stressed the need for clear service-quality standards to ensure that “saturation” truly reflects reliable 4G data on the ground, along with an accessible grievance mechanism for residents to report areas with no network or chronically poor service. He further suggested periodic government reviews and fast-tracking of clearances in these tribal districts until 100% connectivity is achieved.
Taking the matter public, Ulaka posted on X that despite years of parliamentary assurances, villages in Koraput and Rayagada still lack dependable mobile connectivity. He urged the government to provide village-wise clarity, firm timelines, and accountability for pending works.
