Nongstoin, Oct 16: A few taps on the keyboard and the secondary school at Mawkynsah village can now benefit from the various e-learning initiatives of the Government of India. Such is the magic of internet connectivity that it brings people closer not only to their known ones, but also to myriad communities and resources. As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Department of Telecom North-East LSA inaugurated the Bharatnet site at Mawkynsah village in West Khasi hills district on Saturday.

Headmaster Brailian Lyngdoh expressed his happiness that this high speed connectivity would be helpful for the school students. Headman Banteilang Lyngdoh and village secretary Pynshainlang Nongrang also attended the event along with other people from the village.

VSAT sites to be installed in 599 villages

With this inauguration of the BharatNet site at Mawkynsah, Meghalaya is now one village closer to the world. Similar VSAT sites are to be installed in a total of 599 villages under the ongoing Phase-II of the BharatNet project, whereas sites at 98 villages have already been installed under Phase-I.

Connectivity to the remaining villages has been conceived under another phase of the project, which is yet to be launched.

Objective of BharatNet

The objective of this nation-wide project is to provide high- speed broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country.

Besides this, the Department of Telecom is also funding installation of mobile towers to provide 4G connectivity in 1164 uncovered villages of Meghalaya. 878 odd towers are to be installed for this purpose, whereas 11 tower sites are planned for seamless coverage along highways in the State.

Majestic falls, lush green landscapes, misty hills; among a lot many things, Meghalaya is a story of harmony with nature. And these strides in telecom connectivity would surely pave way for this story to be heard the world over!