Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd), reviewed the implementation of the 4G saturation project of BSNL in Ladakh on June 13.

Director (Mobile) BSNL Board, New Delhi, Sandeep Govil gave a presentation on the progress of saturation of BSNL 4G towers in Ladakh. He informed that the project would be completed by the end of September in 2024. He also informed that 241 4G towers would be installed by the BSNL in various villages of Ladakh.

LG instructed ADGP Ladakh to direct Police personnel to escort the trucks from Zojila to different tower locations to ensure that the materials reach designated locations without any obstacle.  BSNL officials were asked  to prioritise Army and ITBP locations first. He emphasized that the timeline for completing the projects should not be missed. DC Kargil was asked to conduct a review meeting regarding the progress of the BSNL 4G saturation project.

Advisor, Dr Pawan Kotwal informed the LG that land for the installation of 4G towers has already been allocated and power supply for the towers has been provided by the Power Development Department, Ladakh. He informed that 82 locations have been allocated in wildlife areas. He stated that the review meeting should be held on 1^st of every month to review the progress of the 4G saturation project.

Executive Councillor, LAHDC Leh, Tashi Namgyal Yakzee, informed that the foundation work of the tower at 2 locations in Durbuk sub-division has been completed. He requested to complete the tower installation at the earliest and also requested BSNL authorities to prioritise the saturation of 4G mobile towers in Changthang area.

Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, Shrikanth Suse said that the administration has provided land, power supply and road clearance to the BSNL authorities.

Chief Engineer, PDD, Ladakh, Tundup Spalzang apprised the LG of the allocation of electrical works of 163 locations in Leh district. He informed that electrical works on 53 locations has been completed and 50 locations are ongoing.

General Manager, BSNL, Leh, Hariom Solanki informed the LG that trucks containing construction materials of towers have been stopped by the local truck union so that local trucks could be used to transport the materials. He requested the LG’s intervention to ensure that the trucks reach the designated locations directly without any delay. He also informed about the application for RoW (Rights of Way) permission for OFC (optical fibre cable) lining for various locations in different RCC of Border Roads Otganisation (BRO). he assured that the BSNL would provide complete route map and repair the damaged road during the 4G saturation project.

Lt Col VS Randhawa, Joint Director, BRO, HIMANK, asked BSNL to provide the map of the route for RoW permission for OFC lining. He also informed that the road damaged during installation of OFC should repaired by BSNL.

Col Tega Singh, Deputy Chief Signal Officer HQ 14 Corps, informed that 35 locations have been identified for the 4G saturation in Army areas and 32 in ITBP areas, with 13 areas common among them. He said that survey has been conducted on 25 locations. He also requested BSNL authorities to install towers at remote areas like Siachen.