Social media finally barred as VPNs stop working in Kashmir

SRINAGAR — Amid continuous suspension of high speed mobile internet as well as broadband services, the private cellular companies here have successfully blocked the Virtual Private Networks (VPN) that helped the netizens to access the banned social media sites.

The netizens said that all the VPNs that helped them to access social media sites are no longer working for the past 24 hours.

“We are not able to access the social media sites including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and other sites as the VPNs are no longer working,” Suhail Majeed, a netizen said. The other netizens also echoed similar views.

An official from the private cellular company said that the netizens can no longer be able to access social media sites, saying that the VPNs were completely blocked in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, some of the users heaved a sigh of relief last midnight, when the high-speed internet of a private cellular company fell open. The netizens said that the speed was increased in the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday and all the applications were running properly without even using the VPNs.

Nonetheless, the joy among the users couldn’t sustain for a long as the high-speed internet was once again snapped in the morning hours, therefore, leaving people to suffer again.

Pertinently, social media applications have been blocked in Jammu and Kashmir by the government in order to ‘maintain peace and tranquillity’.

The top police officials, while sharing the details, have said that these VPNs are being misused by the anti-national elements to create disturbance in peace, therefore, it becomes mandatory to block these social media sites to end the efforts being made to disturb peace.

Some of the people who were allegedly involved in spreading rumours were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, against whom the action is being initiated.

On January 24 this year, the Jammu and Kashmir Government restored the 2G mobile data services to all networks including pre-paid and post-paid sim cards with “verified” credentials. This announcement was made nearly six months after the internet remained suspended completely.