Amidst the heavy rains that lashed Himachal Pradesh on 25th and 26th August 2025, the State Government has placed top priority on restoring telecommunication services in the affected districts. The torrential downpours caused extensive damage to telecom infrastructure, particularly in Chamba, Kullu, and Lahaul-Spiti, resulting in widespread connectivity issues. As of 2nd September, 2025, the government has successfully restored around 65% of the damaged telecom sites in these districts.
The situation was especially dire in Chamba district, where a network outage report revealed that 1,155 out of 1,761 telecom sites—operated by Airtel, Reliance Jio, BSNL, and Vodafone Idea—were non-functional as of 27th August. This breakdown significantly disrupted communications, posing major challenges for emergency services and daily life. Responding to the crisis, CM Sukhu directed an immediate and round-the-clock restoration operation, with a focus on restoring power supply and mobilizing telecom service providers.
According to Gokul Butail, Principal Advisor (Information Technology and Innovation) to the Chief Minister, the situation has improved notably. By 2nd September, the number of non-functional sites in Chamba had dropped to 374, marking a 45% improvement in network restoration within days.
In the remote Bharmour region of Chamba, out of 10 BSNL sites, microwave connectivity has been restored at five locations, with the remaining sites expected to be operational soon. The optical fiber cable (OFC) restoration in the area is underway and is likely to take about a week. Meanwhile, Reliance Jio services are expected to be restored by 6th September, while Airtel’s 2G services have already resumed.
In Kullu district, significant progress has also been reported. Out of 877 Airtel sites, about 84.9% are now operational. Reliance Jio has restored services at 65% of its 1173 sites, while BSNL has managed to restore about 20% of its 391 sites.
Similarly, in Lahaul-Spiti, restoration efforts are showing encouraging results. Out of 63 Airtel sites, an impressive 96.8% are functioning, while 84.1% of Reliance Jio’s 170 sites are back in service as of 2nd September.
The State Government remains committed to fully restoring telecom connectivity across the affected regions, recognizing the essential role of communication services in public safety, emergency response, and daily life. Efforts will continue until normalcy is fully restored.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
