Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday inaugurated BSNL’s free Wi-Fi service at two ghats in Varanasi and announced to provide similar facility to visitors at 407 tourist places in 45 cities across the country soon.
While inaugurating BSNL’s Wi-Fi zone at Dashashwamedh and Sheetla ghats in Varanasi, Prasad said prominent tourist places across India, including Taj Mahal, Sarnath, Fatehpur Sikri, Konark, Mahabaleshwara, Khajuraho, Hampi and Thanjavur, will soon have similar facility.
BSNL would be providing free Wi-Fi services for 30 minutes per 24 hours that visitors at the Varanasi ghats can utilise in multiple sessions. After the free usage limit is exhausted, a customer can continue using the service on a paid basis, for which subscription plans are available in the denomination of Rs 20, Rs 30, Rs 50 and Rs 70 for validity of 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes and one day, respectively.
Prasad said coverage of Wi-Fi facility will be expanded to six other ghats — Rajendra Prasad, Man Mandir, Tript Bhairvi, Meer, Lalita and Manikarnika — by the end of this month. The total cost of making eight ghats Wi-Fi enabled is Rs 16 lakh.
The minister also announced that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme of National Optical Fibre Network, 37,455 gram panchayats in 48 districts of East UP will get connected with optical fibre.
Under the programme, 702 gram panchayats of Varanasi will get connected with optical fibre at a cost of Rs 58 crore. To improve mobile services in the temple town, number of mobile towers would be increased from existing 275 to 339.
The minister promised setting up the state’s first IT park in Varanasi under Software Technology Park of India.
Prasad also proposed to set up an extension centre of National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology, Gorakhpur, at Varanasi with an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore which will offer ‘Digital Marketing’ course for artisans and weavers here.