Five months on, 2G services restored in J&K

Srinagar: Low-speed mobile Internet was on Saturday restored in Kashmir after being suspended nearly six months ago in the wake of the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370, but the service can only be used to access 301 websites approved by the administration, officials said.

"Mobile Internet has been restored across the Valley. Only 2G services have been restored and only white-listed websites, excluding social media sites, can be accessed," an official said.

It is the latest step towards easing the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir following the Supreme Court's January 10 ruling asking its administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory.

On January 18, the administration restored prepaid mobile services in the Valley and resumed 2G mobile data service on whitelisted websites across the Jammu division.

The 301 sites approved include search engines and those associated with banking, education, news, travel, utilities and employment.

There was no word yet on resumption of high-speed broadband and leased-line services in the Valley.

Meanwhile, an unverified image of former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah emerged on social media on Saturday, creating a storm.

In the image, Omar is seen sporting a greyish-white beard and looking relatively worn out. Ever since the image has surfaced on social media it is being widely circulated by people and has been gathering a large number of very interesting reactions from people.

Among those who reacted to the image were eminent political personalities, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She reshared the picture and tweeted: "I could not recognise Omar in this picture. I am feeling sad. Unfortunate that this is happening in our democratic country. When will this end?"