CAA Protest: Big metros disconnected

Hyderabad: Many residents of New Delhi, the nation’s capital, realised on Thursday that they could no longer access the internet through their phones. Network providers such as Airtel and Idea-Vodafone later told media outlets that were ordered to suspend internet services in some parts of the city. This was Delhi’s first tryst with an internet shutdown.

In the past week, due to country-wide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registry of Citizens (NRC), internet services have been suspended in many parts of the country. Assam, for instance, has not had internet for over a week. The country’s metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune — have largely been unaffected by them. However, this is no longer true.  In the past week, Delhi and Kolkata have seen shutdowns. In parts of Kolkata Metropolitan Area, Services have been down in the parts of Kolkata Metropolitan Area since December 15.

Mr Prashanth Sugathan, volunteer legal director with the Software Freedom Law Centre (SLFC), said the imposition of internet shutdowns in metropolitan cities is unprecedented.

“This is the first time we have gotten reports of shutdowns in Delhi. It is concerning. The internet is vital for the survival of cities like Delhi,” he said.

During the Maratha agitation in August 2018, a shutdown was imposed in Pune, but only in rural pockets. In Navi Mumbai, in the same month, internet services were suspended for a few hours.

Mr Srinivas Kodali, a city-based cybersecurity researcher, said, “Internet shutdowns are supposed to be for public emergencies. They are being misused, only to stifle dissent. That shutdowns are being imposed in metros is alarming.”

Mr Kodali said cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which have a bustling IT sector, would be brought to their knees if they face internet shutdowns.  Most of the shutdowns have targeted mobile services, while allowing normal operation of fixed broadband lines. Between January 2012 and April 2018, 124 of the 174 shutdowns targeted only mobile internet services.

“A vast majority of this country’s population uses only mobile internet. Many of their livelihoods — delivery persons, small business and so on — depend on it,” said Mr Kodali.  Telangana has a comparatively good record with internet shutdowns. The state has had only one instance in December 2017, when services were suspended during the Lambada-Adivasi dispute. The SLFC’s report, Living in Darkness, takes the example of a cotton bales trader in Adilabad to illustrate the economic impact of a shutdown.

The farmer, Dipak Birolia, was reported to have struggled to run his business. He had to travel 40 km to access the internet in Maharashtra to generate e-way bills to ensure transportation of goods.