Arunachal Pradesh government restores internet services in Itanagar

As the situation becomes normal in the state, the Arunachal government on February 19, restored the internet services in Itanagar.

The state government had suspended internet in Itanagar on February 17 in the wake of violence in the capital by APPSC aspirants who called an indefinite bandh till their demands were met.

"In exercise of the powers conferred under Sub Rule (I) of Rule (2) of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services in the Itanagar Capital Region to prevent further occurrence of serious law and order problems during today's bandh call given by Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC) which has taken a serious turn now after the destruction of police barricades, lathi charge and firing of tear gas shell, the mobile internet services of BSNL and all other private internet service providers in the Itanagar Capital Region are hereby suspended temporarily from 1800 hours of February 17, 2023, to 1700 hours of February 19, 2023,'' an official notification from the Principal Secretary read.

Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh government on February 18, agreed to the 13 demands of the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC). 

The development comes after two days of unrest in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) and weeks of simmering anger among protesters over the lack of adequate action against those involved in the paper leak case.

The ICR, which consists of Itanagar, the state capital, Naharlagun, Nirjuli, and Banderdewa, has been the center of unrest for the past two days. The streets of Itanagar have been deserted, and clashes between protesters and police have resulted in injuries on both sides.

On February 16, the public announced an indefinite bandh to protest against "the lackadaisical attitude of the state government" towards the 13-point charter of demands placed by the PAJSC regarding the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission's (APPSC) cash-for-job scam. 

The PAJSC has been demanding that the government declare all recruitment examinations conducted by the APPSC 'null and void' wherever question papers were allegedly leaked, the arrest of former APPSC chairman Nipo Nabam, an Enforcement Directorate and Court-monitored probe into the APPSC fiasco, among others.

The announcement of the government's decision to agree to the demands has brought some relief to the protesters. 

Also read: Arunachal Pradesh government agrees to 13 charter demands after public protests in paper leak scam