This story is from May 3, 2016

Nagpur to be first district with all villages on broadband

Nagpur to be first district with all villages on broadband
Nagpur: Patients coming to primary health centre of Khasala village in Hingna on Sunday received consultation from doctors at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital. In another village of Tarodi in Kamptee tehsil students in the primary school used their digital classrooms for the first time to interact with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, inviting him to their village.
Lives of thousands of people from Khandala (Mauda tehsil), Khasala (Kamptee), Tarodi Budruk (Kamptee), Dabha (Hingna) and Vihirgaon (Umred) villages are all set to undergo a change. Thanks to the 4 MBPS broadband that has been set up there by Bharat Sanchar Nigam ltd (BSNL). This is part of the Digital India campaign launched last year by the Government of India. The plan is to connect all 776 Gram Panchayats (GPs) of Nagpur district through high speed Internet. These were the first villages to be so connected in the state and Nagpur district is on track to be the first in state to have all GPs on broadband network.
“We plan to use technology to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas. This will enable us to provide digital empowerment for the next generation of our rural population. The need of today’s times is not just smart cities but also smart villages,” Fadnavis said inaugurating the project.
Nagpur is among the priority districts that the Department of Telecom wishes to digitize in the first phase of the campaign. BSNL has earmarked a sum of Rs30 crore towards providing broadband to 776 GPs. This work is expected to be completed over the next three months.
Fadnavis said being a part of the Digital Highway would enable much progress in the areas of health, education and agriculture. “Real time information that can be availed through Internet access could help in improving facilities in rural areas. It will enable the villagers to be a part of and contribute better towards the economy of the nation,” he added.
While the pilot project of the campaign is starting from Nagpur, there are plans to extend it to all 28,000 GPs in the state over the next three years. The state government is not only pushing towards making Nagpur the first digital district of the state but also Maharashtra the first smart state eventually.
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About the Author
Payal Gwalani

Payal Gwalani, a reporter for Times of India's Nagpur edition, covers health and weather. Almost every weekend, one can find her attending CMEs with the city doctors. She loves reading fiction novels, surfing through blogs and watching television. Besides writing news reports, she also writes poetry.

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