Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, Jio, BSNL and MTNL reportedly shut down mobile communications in certain regions of Delhi

The top telecom operators have reportedly disabled communication services in some select areas in the national capital. Several users took to Twitter and complained about the internet, call and SMS services not working and soon after, replying to users’ queries, the telcos Airtel and Vodafone-Idea reportedly confirmed that they have ceased telecom services as per instructions from government authorities. However, soon after these tweets were removed but netizens posted screenshots of it taken before they were removed. This is a new instance of internet shutdown in India and is being reported after Internet Shutdown released a report stating that India witnessed most internet shutdowns since 2012, with the total standing at 366. 

A photo of the directive issued by the DY commissioner of police for telecom operators is also making the rounds of the internet. The directive states, “In view of the prevailing law and order situation, it is hereby directed that communications of all types, i.e. voice, SMS & internet, be halted from 09:00 hours to 13:00 hours, in the Cell IDs/BTS covering the following areas for dated 19.12.2019.” 

As per the directive, internet has been shut down in:

Walled city areas of North and Central districts Mandi House Seelampur, Jaffarbad and Mustafabad Jamia Nagar and Shaeen Bagh Bawana

As for India leading internet shutdowns in the world, the website Internet Shutdowns reports that back in 2012, three times the internet access was blocked in the country and five times in 2013. In 2014 and 2015, the numbers touched 6 and 14 respectively. There were 31 cases of internet shutdowns in 2016, 79 reports in 2017, and 134 cases of internet shutdowns were reported in 2018. In 2019, there have been 94 reported cases of internet disconnections in India. 

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