SWABI: The residents of rural areas in swabi have demanded of government to provide better mobile phone and internet service to them as they face problems due to poor network and connections.
They told Country News that they faced difficulties due to poor internet and mobile phone service in rural areas of Razar, Chota Lahor, Topi and Gadoon for the last several months.They said they had to dial the desired mobile phone number for several times and when it got connected they heard only noise but could not understand the next person. They said that they could not even send a text message through Whatsapp owing to poor internet service.
Waqas Ahmad, a resident of Shewa, said that mobile phone networks were not working properly in their area. He said that they lodged complaints with local administration about poor internet and mobile phone service but to no avail.
Saeed Khan,a resident of Mangal Chai, Gadoon, said that internet had been down in their area for the last two months. He said that they faced problems in contacting their relatives and family members living abroad. He said that he had to travel for an hour to contact his elder brother in case of any emergency.
Saiqa Khan, a student of fashion and design at Women’s University swabi, says,”Whenever we search online for fashion and design related assignment the network does not work properly and it becomes very difficult for me to complete my assignments.”Pakistan Telecommunications Authority should fix the network in Swabi, She demanded.
“When I use the internet for new research methods in the medical world, it does not work at all, due to which we are deprived of new research methods in the field of medicine, Dr Inayat of Pabini area said, adding that Govt should fix the network in our area as soon as possible.
Muhammad Ali, a resident of turlandi, said they had been fed up with the mobile phone network as they could not do online work due to its slow speed. He said that he used online mobile applications for sending and receiving payments for his business but the poor internet service was hampering his trade.
Arif Hussain Advocate, Legal Advisor Human Rights, a lawyer in Swabi, said he pleaded several cases in consumer court against a mobile phone company for its poor service. He said that court called the company officials and asked them to improve their service in the district. He added that government should address the issue.
When contacted the concerned authority, the director Pakistan telecommunications authority, regarding the matter, he confirmed the network related problems in Swabi and said that due to climate change there are internet connection problems in various places of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”We are working on the issue, soon will be resolved and the internet service will be restored, he assured.