829 villages in Naxal-infested district have no internet connectivity: DoT

Even as the education sector has switched over to online format due to Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns, as many as 829 villages in Gadchiroli district have no Internet connectivity. This was revealed by the department of telecommunications (DoT) in an affidavit filed before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Wednesday when hearing on a suo motu PIL (No7/2020) took place.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was based on letters by 10 school students, hailing from remote villages in the Naxalite-infested district, to the HC Chief Justice and senior administrative judge at the Nagpur bench, where Firdos Mirza was appointed as amicus curiae.

Upset over the information by the DoT, a division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Anil Pansare expressed concern over the future of schoolchildren from the tribal-dominated district. NewsLogged