Fiber internet service reaches rural Mikwakhola

By Chandra Pandak,Taplejung, Jan. 29: Fiber internet service has reached Mikwakhola, a rural municipality in the Himalayan region of Taplejung district. The fiber-optic communication service has reached up to Papung, an area in Ward No. 5 of Mikwakhola Rural Municipality.

The internet service reached the rural region with the coordination between Mikwakhola Rural Municipality and Sewaro Network Pvt. Ltd.  According to officials, the villages in Mikwakhola have been linked with a 100 Mbps internet connection.

“The fiber optic cables were extended up to Papung via Phungling Municipality. It took around 47,000-metre-long cables for the internet service to reach Papung,” said Suraj Ojha, a representative of Sewaro Network.

The cables were tied overhead on utility poles. Moreover, the internet service reached Khokling in Ward No. 1 and 2, Libang in Ward No. 3, and Sanba, the area with Mikwakhola Rural Municipality office in Ward No. 4, before connecting Papung with the world through internet.

“It cost around Rs. 10 million for the project of connecting villages of Mikwakhola with the wider world. The rural municipality bore 40 per cent of the cost and we covered the rest,” said Ojha. Meanwhile, locals of the villages expressed joy for being able to use the internet service after a long wait. 

“There were several issues people and government offices faced across the rural municipality due to a lack of internet connection. Now, we have started utilising the service to make our services more effective for the public,” said Dandu Lama, vice chairman and spokesperson of Mikwakhola Rural Municipality.

Since several official works require internet access for registration and verification, local representatives and government officers had to reach Phungling for it earlier. According to locals, the rural municipality office, all five ward offices, Khokling Police Station and Century Bank branch in Thalang, among others, have started utilising the internet service.

Likewise, Sewaro Network informed that several locals were in queue to install internet services in their homes and shops across the rural municipality. Locals informed that they wanted to install internet at their homes to connect with their families, friends and relatives in different parts of the country and abroad.