The Tawang Deputy Commissioner KN Damo told PTI that BSNL and Bharti Airtel would install 23 new mobile towers to improve connectivity

After the India-China clash at Yangtse, the government has decided to install more mobile towers in order to improve connectivity near the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, news agency PTI has reported citing senior official.

The Tawang Deputy Commissioner KN Damo told PTI that BSNL and Bharti Airtel would install 23 new mobile towers to improve connectivity.

"The existing towers were not giving the desired services, causing problems not only for the defence forces but also the civilians living along the border," he said.

Earlier, there was no mobile network in the border areas but the situation has changed now with residents enjoying internet service and mobile connectivity even at Bum-La and Y-Junction but more improvement is needed, he added.

"Defence areas have been given priority for the installations, while civilian areas such as Mago, Chuna and Niliya (near Zemithang) have been not neglected either," Damo said.

The district administration had asked for 43 new towers, he said.

The officer said that all preparations are in place for installing the new towers, but winter would pose a challenge, which might get the process delayed.

Though the hilltops of the district have been receiving snowfall, the headquarters town witnessed snowfall first time on Sunday night with the mercury plummeting to -3 degrees Celsius.

Earlier, the government had said that it is carrying out infrastructure development in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh. While speaking to news agency ANI, chief engineer of 'Project Vartak', Brig Raman Kumar said, “Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is developing and maintaining all road networks in the key border areas of western Assam and western Arunachal Pradesh."

"We have national highways, single-lane roads, double-lane roads and other types of roads as well. We want to connect even the far-flung areas of the Tawang district and contribute to the socio-economic development of this area," he had said. He had also informed that two tunnels Sela and Nechipu tunnel are under construction as vehicular movement becomes difficult due to heavy snowfall during winter.

Chinese and Indian troops engaged in combat in Tawang on December 9.

The government claimed that India made a "firm and resolute" response and forced a retreat. On December 13, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also informed the Rajya Sabha that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops tried to transgress the Line of Actual Control in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh and unilaterally change the status quo but they were forced to retreat to their positions due to the timely intervention of Indian troops.