SRINAGAR: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Thursday said the decision to ban SMS service on prepaid mobile phones in Jammu and Kashmir was taken by the state government and not the centre.
The government-owned telecom major revealed this in a reply to a notice by the state human rights panel on a petition filed by an activist, IANS reported on Friday.
The SMS facility on prepaid mobile phones was withdrawn in the state in 2008 during the Amarnath land row agitation. But the facility was allowed on post-paid mobiles.
BSNL authorities told the state human rights panel that the decision was taken by the Jammu and Kashmir home department.
The petition demanded that the ban on SMS facility on prepaid mobiles be lifted as services like WhatsApp, facebook and twitter were operational in the state, making such a ban irrelevant.
“A smartphone service like WhatsApp allows exchange of messages using only the internet data plan. It does not matter whether you have a prepaid or postpaid phone connection.
“It also allows the creation of groups, unlimited messages, audio and video messages. In the wake of such a strong and powerful service being available freely to Jammu and Kashmir residents, it is beyond any sensible reason to ban the affordable SMS service on prepaid phones”, the report said. KO Monitoring Desk
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
