An employee was killed and two were wounded when terrorists fired at a franchise outlet of BSNL in Sopore on Monday (Press Trust of India photo)
The Jammu and Kashmir police has begun restoring mobile phone transmission towers that were closed after terror attacks and threats in various parts of Kashmir. It said most towers in south Kashmir are now operational and those in Sopore will be restored by this evening.
The state police has also deployed its men to protect the towers in vulnerable areas after Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed directed it to ensure security for the cellular towers and those manning them.
Communication in the valley has been critically hit with terrorists repeatedly targeting telecom facilities in Kashmir in the last few days.
Hundreds of mobile transmission towers have been being turned off by employees and franchisees after terrorists killed two persons associated with mobile phone services and injured four others in five attacks in the last week. On Monday, a grenade was thrown at a mobile tower in downtown Srinagar.
Concerned over the series of attacks, the Centre issued an advisory to the state government, asking it to ensure the safety of the communication infrastructure and come up with an action plan to counter the newest threat.
The state police has assured the Union Home Ministry that if need be, the police will run the vulnerable towers.
K Rajindra, Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir told NDTV that all steps will be taken to ensure the smooth functioning of mobile services. "We will deploy our men in all vulnerable areas and if need arises, we can even shift some towers and install them near security installations," Mr Rajindra said.