You must have often faced network issues while you are talking with someone over the phone. But what do you do then? Restart your phone or select the network manually? I guess this is the maximum we do! However, union minister Arjun Meghwal went one step further and climbed a tree for a clearer mobile phone signal as he experienced firsthand, the ground realities of the Digital India dream at a village in Rajasthan.
On June 4, Arjun Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance was visiting a village in his parliamentary constituency Bikaner as part of a media campaign when he lost the network. He realised it when he was talking to the villagers about their problems and dialed officers but could not get through.
According to a NDTV report, a villager had complained to him about the lack of nurses in a local hospital and he had tried to call a health officer, but wasn’t able to reach out due to poor network.
The village Dhoolia, 85 km from the nearest town, is among some 200 hamlets nestled in sand dunes. The villagers explained to the minister that it was almost impossible to catch signals from there, but they did have a solution.
Video Courtesy: YouTube
The villagers asked Meghwal to climb a tree, which left him baffled for some time. The 62-year-old minister told the villagers that he couldn’t climb a tree just like that, following which a ladder was brought immediately, to help Meghwal climb with his phone held high. And the next thing that happened was that his mobile phone started receiving signals.
A video of Meghwal talking on the phone while balancing himself on the ladder has gone viral on social media. As he completed his call, he climbed down to loud cheering and applause.
Following the incident, Arjun Meghwal also directed the officials to set up mobile towers in the villages within three months, at a cost of Rs 13 lakh, and electricity cables.
