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Heave a Sigh of Relief! There won’t be Any Internet Shutdowns in Udaipur for Govt. Exams

Internet shutdowns have become a weekend affair for all the Udaipurites as every now and then it takes place in the city and the reason is the same ‘To stop students from cheating in the government exams’. It doesn’t just frustrates the citizens but affects several aspects in the city including IT companies, digital platforms, online banking, online booking, education sectors, the stock market, and the list is endless.

Well, if you are the one who thinks the same, then it’s a good news for you. According to a letter issued by the Rajasthan Government, it has been clearly instructed to the authorities of the city that they cannot suspend internet services of the district to prevent cheating at the Government exams getting conducted in the city.

 

Now, all the citizens can heave a sigh of relief for those internet-less days are gone now. At the end of the day, our authorities have finally taken a smart decision for our smart city and it won’t face any internet shutdowns now, not for a government exam at least.

If you have any feedback regarding the article or have an interesting story to share with us then write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com.

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Are We Easily Accepting the Insane Decisions of Government? | Internet Ban in Udaipur

Rajasthan is witnessing an action that is unprecedented in the history of a democracy anywhere in this world. Rajasthan officials enforced a two-day statewide internet ban with arbitrary geographical boundaries. The reason for this was to deter cheating at the Rajasthan State Constable Examination.

Administrators in each district had to pass orders to shut down the cellular internet (and home broadband services too maybe) on the last weekend from 8AM-5PM in the day [copy of an order from Divisional Commissioner, Udaipur]. This is the first time something of this scale happened but Rajasthan is no stranger to regional internet bans. We are being normalized for what is an extreme action. This time the reason for the shutdown was to deter cheating at a government examination. Shutdown internet for the whole state to stop cheating at an exam makes perfect sense.

Folks at Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) have been tracking the Internet Shutdowns across India for last four years. According to InternetShutdowns.in, state of Rajasthan has seen 25 shutdowns in this duration which is second highest for any state in India after J&K! SFLC’s handbook on Internet Shutdowns in India is fairly useful policy primer on the issue.

This meant a loss of livelihood to many (cab drivers, mobile recharge shops, food delivery businesses, remote employees, freelancers, the list goes on). Approximately, the transaction of around 20 crores was interrupted, 14,000 e-tickets were not booked, roadways tickets suffered a loss of 5% and similarly, numerous people suffered from the ban. This directly negated the whole idea of digital India and the push to digital payment that came after demonetization. This is probably harmful in a hundred more ways. None of these shutdowns are properly communicated. The government simply is not even interested to gauge in the economic and other losses as a result of these bans to a state of 6.89 Crore people!

It is even more important that you make yourself heard because there is no framework or metric right now that the Office of District Magistrate or any official higher in the ladder uses to decide what events/occasions duly require a blanket ban (if any at all!). By not speaking, you are surrendering your rights to access the internet which is equivalent only to let the government decide when you get to be online and when not.

I am not sure if you or your friends are directly affected but we still need to hold our administration accountable at this moment. Only because this is an immense power exercise!

We need our government to answer a few really basic questions:

  • What is the process of arriving at the conclusion of such a blanket ban?
  • How are geographical boundaries in ban enforced? Who is enforcing these boundaries?
  • What all exams in the future will require a blanket ban?
  • What is significantly different about these exams that we have to resort to an action of this scale? An order like this is unprecedented in the history of our country (or any country probably)

To put things in perspective, internet bans are used around the world even by authoritarian regimes only in dire needs and at times of revolt (think Arab spring). We are a liberal democracy seeing this enforced so casually. This is normalization!

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5 Things to Do on Internet Ban Days in Udaipur

Internet has become a crucial part of our lives and we didn’t even realize it until the news of internet ban struck our ears. Without the internet, our smartphones seem like a pizza without toppings. While it is not possible for us to give you your colorful internet days but here are some things which you can do while your cell phone is on rest.

 

Enjoy Monsoons live without ‘Going Live’

Internet Ban? 5 Things to Do on Internet-Free Days in Udaipur
Source: Flickr

We tend to enjoy monsoons in our city quite too much isn’t it? But before the rain actually touches the ground, it touches our Instagram. People start flooding their social networking sites with pictures and videos of monsoon. So, this time explore the city and feel the serenity it has to offer during monsoons without carrying the baggage of posting everything on social networking sites.

 

Talk to your Family

Internet Ban? 5 Things to Do on Internet-Free Days in Udaipur
Source: TripSavvy

It might seem a bit overrated and ordinary but you cannot imagine how many stories they have to offer you. They belong to a time when the internet didn’t even exist so instead of investing their time on the internet, they have created some unforgettable stories that are worth a lifetime. At the end of all this you will realize that these folks can be interesting too.

 

Go through your old ‘physical’ photo albums

Internet Ban? 5 Things to Do on Internet-Free Days in Udaipur
Source: Hindustan Times

When digitalization didn’t overtake the reality, your parents and even your grandparents used to store the moments of your childhood in photo albums. Those were the times when clicking and getting photos printed had a cost and so you won’t see repetitive photos there with different poses. These photos will either make you shy and embarrassed about how you used to look or it is possible that you end up calling your childhood self cute. Either way, you will have a great time.

 

Go shopping

Internet Ban? 5 Things to Do on Internet-Free Days in Udaipur
Source: TripAdvisor

Cut some slack to window shopping for a bit and actually go out to buy something good for you and your loved ones. And while we are talking about that, you could try shopping at ‘The Celebration Mall’ since it is offering flat 50% off on huge brands like AND, Iconic, Levi’s, UCB, Wrangler, etc. Isn’t it a happy coincidence?

 

Dial to an old friend

Internet Ban? 5 Things to Do on Internet-Free Days in Udaipur
Source: iStock

If you just can’t stop yourself from checking your phone repeatedly and getting disappointed because there’s no notification or text, then either you can keep doing it for the entire day and wait for the turtle time to pass or you can dial an old friend. It may seem weird or awkward calling someone out of the blue but trust me you will get out the zone. You will feel a hell lot of nostalgia while recalling the time that you spent and the fun you had together. You never know what you might end up with.

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There Will Be NO INTERNET in Udaipur for 2 days!!! Know Why!

To avoid fake candidates and cheating, district administration will ban internet services in Udaipur on 14th and 15th July. Rajasthan Police Constable Entrance Exam is going to get conducted at various centers in Udaipur. On these two days, internet services will not be available between 8 am to 5 pm. Considering the possibilities of irregularity at the centers, CCTV camera and jammers are installed.

These exams would be conducted in two slots on 14th and 15th July. The first slot would be from 10 am to 12 noon and the other one would be from 3 pm to 5 pm. At 24 centers in the city, around 14232 candidates will be appearing in the exam in every slot.

According to SP Rajendra Prasad Goyal “On both 14th and 15th July, internet services would be unavailable in the city. Initially, we tried to ban internet services in only those areas of the city where the centers of these exams were. But since the city has 24 exam centers, it would be difficult to ban internet in specific areas. Hence, it is possible that the internet would be unavailable in the entire district”.

Looks like this is how we are headed to become a ‘smart’ city and ‘IT’ hub. Not too much of smartness here, eh?

News Source: Dainik Bhaskar