Manipur government looking to set up kiosks across the State for limited Internet access

The Manipur government is looking to set up kiosks across the State where citizens can access Internet services, The Hindu has learnt.  This comes a week after the Manipur High Court sought options for restoring the Internet with a restriction on social media websites and also directed the government to restore limited access at designated locations for the time-being.

The Manipur government is looking to set up kiosks across the State where citizens can access Internet services, The Hindu has learnt. 

This comes a week after the Manipur High Court sought options for restoring the Internet with a restriction on social media websites and also directed the government to restore limited access at designated locations for the time-being. 

A similar mechanism was set up in Jammu and Kashmir when Internet services were shut down after the special status under Article 370 was read down on August 5, 2019. 

Internet services have been shut down in Manipur since May 3, when ethnic clashes broke out between the dominant Meitei community and the tribal Kuki-Zomi community. At least 100 people have been killed, hundreds injured, and tens of thousands internally displaced in the violence so far. 

While mobile data and broadband services have largely been shut down since May, the administration has allowed some public spaces and government buildings such as the DIPR office and the High Court to access the Internet on select devices. 

The Home Department had also allowed media houses operating in the Imphal Valley and offices of some civil society outfits in the hill district of Churachandpur to apply for Internet access. 

Now, after the High Court’s order, the government is planning to expand such physical access points for Internet services throughout the State, in a bid to ease troubles faced by the society due to the shutdown, Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi confirmed to The Hindu.