90pc of Alasai district residents lack access to telecom services

MAHMOOD RAQI (Pajhwok): Only 10 percent residents of the Alasai district of central Kapisa province have access to telecom services. However, officials say the issue would be resolved in near future. Zikrullah, a resident of Skeen Dara area of Alasai district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the people of his village were deprived of telecommunication services.
He said they had to travel for few hours to reach the district center and make a phone call to a friend or relative. He blamed the issue on the previous government’s negligence and urged the present government to address the issue.
“We don’t have telecommunication services in our village, our people are in trouble,” said Fateh Mohammad, a resident of Shpa Dara area who had come to the district center for shopping. He said he traveled a long distance to reach the district center and talk to his brother in Iran on the phone. He also asked the government to address the problem of lack of telecommunication services in the district.
Fateh Mohammad added: “I hope my voice will reach the authorities and we will be able to enjoy telecommunication services like other citizens.” Siddiqullah, another resident , complained that the problem of lack of telecom service remained unaddressed. “People have access to telecommunication services in the center only, which is also the effect of the towers in Tagab district of the province. The internet is not working properly in the district center either.”
The Kapisa Telecommunications Department also confirms that 90 percent of the population in the district does not have access to telecommunications services. Mualvi Dilawar, director of telecommunications and information technology in the province, told Pajhwok Afghan News that only 10 percent of the people in the district had access to telecommunication services.
According to him, those who have access to the telecom service are residents of the district center due to telecom towers in Tagab district. There is no tower in Alasai district. Dilawar said he was trying to resolve the issue. He added that the people of Alasai have filed dozens of complaints to the department to resolve the issue and the department has also shared the issue with the Ministry of Telecommunications.
He added: “We have also talked to the telecommunication companies who have promised to resolve the issue soon.” Alasai is one of the remote districts of Kapisa and had been one of the most insecure districts during the past conflict.