Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Nov 30: Using train as a means of transport, people from Srinagar and other parts of Valley are traveling to Banihal to convert their prepaid SIM cards into postpaid ones.
Boarding a train at Railway Station Srinagar, it takes less than three hours for passengers to reach Banihal, where after stepping out of the Railway Station the telecom companies have established stalls outside the station and offer services.
For Showkat Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, there was no way left for him to revive his prepaid connection till few days ago when his friend suggested him to travel to Banihal where the conversion was possible.
“We boarded the train at around 10 in the morning and after few hours, we were there; I had brought all the documents with me from Srinagar and was able to convert my prepaid SIM within an hour or so,” he said.
The Government, after resuming the mobile communications in October, decided to keep the prepaid mobile services suspended in the Valley, while letting the postpaid connections to function. In Jammu division, the prepaid services are up and running, with telecom companies also suggesting the customers to travel to Jammu in order to convert their connections.
As people feel that prepaid services won’t be resumed in the Valley any time soon, they find it convenient to travel to Banihal in order to get the things done. “It is better to lose one day rather than losing a mobile connection which is lying with you for last so many years,” he said.
Amid communication crisis, the railway service is proving to be a boon for people as the service has made it possible for them to reach Banihal in almost no time and reach back home conveniently.
In Banihal, almost every shop has got a counter available for people, offering them services. Be it hotels or restaurants, tea stalls, garment shops-by and large all the shopkeepers have put up the boards and are offering people who come from other districts with the services.
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