“We were expecting something good from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit. We didn’t know we will get such a gift that has snatched our bread and butter,” says J&K STD/PCO Owners’ Association president Bashir Ahmad Dar.

The Union Home Ministry’s ban on pre-paid cellphones in Jammu and Kashmir, that came into effect today, has not only left many angry in the state but also put around 20,000 youths in danger of finding themselves without a job.

“Around 2 lakh people will be hit by this ban. Our 10,000 members who had been directly dependent on pre-paid connections are going to be jobless,” says Dar.

The mobile companies — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Airtel, Aircel, Reliance, Vodaphone and Tata Indicom — currently have a monthly business of around Rs 150 crore in the state, most of it in pre-paid cell connections. Out of 45 lakh connections in J&K, 39 lakh are pre-paid. While Airtel launched its pre-paid service in April 2004, the BSNL had started the same in June 2005.

Sources in the state’s telecom sector say there are around 400 customer touch points, 350 major distributors and around 48,000 small and big retail outlets across the state, apart from the innumerable number of mobile selling and repair shops. The Home Ministry’s decision is likely to affect everyone linked to these businesses.

The Omar Abdullah government has strongly opposed the move and has decided to take up the matter with the Centre. The opposition PDP too has termed the step contrary to the forward-looking developmental agenda for the state outlined by PM Singh recently.

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