SIMIKOT, Oct 10: The telephone service of Nepal Telecom has been out of order in Simikot Rural Municipality-3 in the Himalayan district of Humla for over a month now. The local residents have expressed serious concern over the disruption of the service for such a long time. The disruption of the telephone service has left the people of the region out of contact with their relatives even in such a festive time of the year. The local residents are saddened after not being able to wish each other well with their relatives after being deprived of the service.
The disruption of the essential service has had a direct impact on the villages of Simikot Rural Municipality-1 to 3 and Takla, Banta, and Kumlik villages of Khaprunath Rural Municipality-5 after the telephone tower stopped working a month ago.
Telephone service disrupted in Humla for a month
The tower of Nepal Telecom, located in Bargaon in ward 3 stopped working after the Heldung Sana Hydropower Project stopped producing energy on September 7, said Hemanta Bohara, a former employee of Nepal Telecom and a local resident.
According to the locals, the telecom tower does not work without electricity. They have even urged the local government to upgrade the tower with solar power to make the tower operational again.
Nepal Telecom is currently working toward upgrading the capacity of the network as well as keep providing service, a source said. According to the telecom, they have been using generators to not let the region be fully deprived of communication services.
(With Inputs from RSS)