Thaindian News

Imphal, Apr 23(ANI): Airtel has denied that it has stopped its operations in Manipur following continuous attacks by militants on telecom towers and employees associated with the industry.

“Airtel services in Manipur continue to work as usual, allowing our customers to stay connected with friends and family,” an Airtel spokesperson said.

Earlier, it was reported that unidentified militants had torched an Airtel tower at the Langol game village in Imphal.

“One of the militants asked me whether the tower was functional or not. When I told him that it was not operating, he replied that they were there to destroy it. I tried to stop them but they torched the tower and left,” N. Rupachandra Singh, the caretaker of the Airtel Tower, had said.

The All Manipur Airtel workers union had demanded stern action against the culprits.

They also wanted an amicable solution so that they can work in a peaceful environment.

There are five telecom companies operating in the region. They are BSNL, Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Reliance and Tata Indicom.

“The incident has scared us. We do not want to die just because we operate the BTS towers in Manipur. We are very worried. We do not know how things will be, but for now the towers are not functioning till we reach an amicable solution,” Nilakomol Singh, advisor, All Manipur Airtel Workers’ Union, had said.

In the past 24 months militants have been targeting the telecom companies in a big way.

In 2010 militants destroyed 10 BTS towers whereas 17 towers in 2009. In February 2010, the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party issued a warning that all the mobile companies were banned in Manipur.

In the past four months, the police has registered nearly six cases of attacks on telecom employees. But till now no arrests have been made.

The private sector in Manipur is virtually non-existent, due to the activities of militant groups who are now ruthlessly targeting the mobile companies that are the last vestiges of organised private sector in the state. (ANI)