CANACONA
After a gap of four years, residents in the remote Cotigao of Canacona finally got mobile network coverage in the village.
A private company successfully activated an existing mobile tower on the day of Gandhi Jayanti, bringing cheer to the villagers, especially the young generation of the tribal community, who were eagerly waiting to rejoin the rest of the world online.
Cotigao village was remotely served by mobile connectivity of outstation mobile towers, but there was no connectivity to over 95% of the residents.
Realising some business opportunity, a private company erected a mobile tower in the village and rented it to a private service provider.
Following default in payment, the tower owner refused to allow its usage and the mobile service provider was reportedly also not happy with the revenue generation from the tower.
As a result, the mobile service provider discontinued the mobile services, disconnecting an entire village of over 3,000 people from the rest of the online world.
Considering the importance of providing mobile coverage in every nook and corner of the Canacona constituency, then Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes contacted private players as well as BSNL for not just one but at least four mobile towers at different locations in the village so that all hilly and mountainous areas would also get mobile connectivity, and nine other towers in the rest of the taluka, wherever network coverage was not available.
The State government had been mediating with different telecom service providers over the last three years and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant even held a series of meetings with private service providers and BSNL officials.
By the time the government finally shortlisted the private player Jio Network Services, the State went in for the assembly elections.
During his first visit to Cotigao after elections in the second week of April, Sawant had promised to bring mobile connectivity to Cotigao within three months, following a request by Canacona MLA & Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, who highlighted problems facing students during online studies.
By July end, there was no sign of mobile connectivity and many villagers began to question the time frame given by the chief minister.
Work then began for the underground connectivity cabling and it was finally completed by September end. The mobile connectivity to Cotigao villagers was finally commissioned by Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, in the presence of Jio Network Services head Deepak Shah, Cotigao sarpanch Anandu Dessai, deputy sarpanch Poonam Gaonkar and other panchas.
“Now, people of Cotigao can enjoy the fastest Jio network,” said Tawadkar.
Sarpanch Dessai thanked all those who had worked to provide mobile connectivity to the village.
Cotigao village consists of Endre, Morphanamal, Bhutpal, Nadke and Keri, which are mostly hilly and densely vegetated terrains located inside the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary.
The tower at Avali, which is near the Panchayat Ghar, will ensure mobile connectivity at Ponsuleamoll, Avem, Avalem, Bardem, Yeda, Kuskem and some places in Nadkem, while there will be limited network in surrounding areas.
