Impressed from the work of four youngsters who recently launched the free Internet services with their own savings in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, the PMO has enquired about the project for broader adoption
By Mohd Ujaley
Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh which recently made headlines for turning its three remote villages into free Wi-Fi hamlets in the country without any government funding has now got the attention of Prime Minister Office (PMO). The PMO has recently enquired about the modality of the initiative.
“They have enquired about the initiative—how it is being done and possibility of adoption on pan India level,” said a government official.
Four IT professionals, Shakeel Anjum and Bhanu Yadav along with Tushar Bharthare and Abhishek Bharthare have successfully turned the entire Bawdikhera Jagir panchayat into free Wi-Fi zone without any government funding.
These youngsters left their plush jobs at MNCs to formally launched the services on January 1 after a two-month trial run. According to the report, they pulled about two lakh from their saving to set-up the necessary infrastructure to offer the services.
Telecom Secretary, Rakesh Garg has spoken to district official to enquire about the project and has asked for detail report on the initiative. A district official confirmed that they have sent the required details to the ministry.
Inspired by the project, the district administration is now aiming to be the first district in the Madhya Pradesh to offer free Wi-Fi services. Recently, in an interview to Express Computer, Tarun Kumar Pithode, district collector, Rajgarh said, “Yes, we are aiming to become the first Wi-Fi district. It will involve the effort of various entrepreneurs, social organisations and administration.”
According to the district official, while many innovative ideas have been discussed on how to do it, the district administration is broadly mulling on three ideas. One is to promote volunteer organisations like the one done in the panchayat Bawadikheda, but they are not sure about the sustainability of the project. If sponsors come on-board, then the model could be sustainable in the future.
The other model is to let it be free for the entrepreneurs to implement and levy a basic user charge. This may involve complex issues of licenses and therefore legal modalities are still being worked out. The third model involves helping the local bodies to implement such a service. “We are working on details of all such models. There could be two other ways also, but it is still in the process of development and discussion,” says Pithode.
Broad vision of the district is to provide multiple connectivity options, technology and training so that people’s livelihood in rural areas could be improved. “Our broad vision is to make people capable through various inputs like training and technology to ensure they take the right decisions at the right time leading to improvement in the quality of life for all the residents of the district, especially rural folks,” adds Pithode.
According to government officials, one of the main requirements in a village is information relating to farming, health consultancy and education inputs for the students. “If we can create a low cost Wi-Fi zone, it will ensure that people get these services on their own,” says Pithode.