Net loss: Surviving in an NCR city without mobile internet

On the sweltering afternoon of August 2, 40-year-old Faridabad resident stepped out of her home to walk to her local vegetable vendor. It was a path she had walked many times before , yet on this day, there was a little trepidation.

- Shiv Sunny

The neighbouring district of Nuh was up in communal flames, and Faridabad had been affected too. The traffic was a little thinner; the shops more deserted. But quickly, Kwatra heaved a sigh of relief. The shop was open, she saw. She topped a basked with fruits and vegetables, walked to the counter, and watched the shopkeeper weigh and pack them in large polythene bags. Like she always did, she pulled out her phone to make an online payment.

Except, it dawned on her quickly, all mobile internet was shut in Faridabad. Over the years, she had stopped carrying cash, and did not remember her ATM pin that could have been a workaround. The shopkeeper knew her, but this had likely happened several times before in the day; enough for him to draw a red line. “I was a regular customer but he asked me to leave the packed produce behind,” Kwatra said.

Nuh violence

On July 31, communal violence erupted IN Nuh after an annual religious yatra was attacked in Nalhar village of Nuh, spreading over the next few days to of Gurugram and Palwal. No violence was reported from Faridabad. The last of the violence took place on August 8,but by then six people were dead, 88 were injured, and dozens of shops and homes gutted or vandalised.

But in many ways, Kwatra’s experience, and that of so many others, underlined a new cost to violence in urban settlements.

As is now established procedure, within hours of the violence, the district administration issued an order suspending mobile internet in Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad and parts of Gurugram districts. In Faridabad, from 7.30am on July 31 to 11.59pm on August 5, mobile internet remained suspended, save for a three-hour reprieve on the afternoon of August 3.