THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the state government has launched its ambitious K-FON project, a silent communication revolution has been underway in Kerala among Dalits and tribals. In what could be termed as a parallel to the K-FON initiative, but done with great focus and a sense of purpose, the movement has already benefited 17 tribal hamlets in Thiruvananthapuram.
The revolutionary communication project was done by the dalit organisation Dalit Samudya Munnani (DSM), which found a strong ally in the state Schedule Tribes (ST) development department.
It all started when the state was under siege by Covid. When the education department switched to online, most tribal students were left out as mobiles and the internet were still strangers to these hamlets. “We did our best to put it to the attention of the government, but nothing happened,” Sunny M Kapicadu, the chairman of Dalit Samudaya Munnani, told TNIE.
“Generally, Dalits go for protests over various issues. But generally, they won’t be able to solve the issue and will finally end up disappointed. So we decided to find a solution to the problem rather than organising a mere protest. While we were seeking a way out, our secretariat member Saji Kavalam informed the party secretariat that his son Nirmal, a BTech student, had told him that by providing wireless internet, the problem could be solved,” Sunny said.
A total of 14 leaders collected Rs 1.40 lakh in 2021 and selected Kodumudi near Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta for the pilot project. They bought the equipment for the projects from abroad. DSM was successful in also winning the support of then-Pathanamthitta district collector P B Nooh. With the district administration’s assurance, BSNL, which had the air fibre technology, took part in the pilot project, and it was a success. The project ended the digital divide between the tribal students and the rest of the student community in three places in Kodumudi.
Taking lessons from this, in October 2021, iSEC, a society under Athul Jayakumar, a state committee member of DSM, and DSpace, a society of DSM, formed a consortium to implement the wireless internet facility in 17 tribal hamlets in Thiruvananthapuram. “We also got the support of the ST development department,” DSpace secretary Bijoy told TNIE.
“The ST department expressed willingness to pay for the internet usage charge to the BSNL from the ST sub-plan. In September 2021, the iSEC and BSNL signed the contract,” he said.
Now, using air fibre technology, over 200 students in these hamlets can attend online classes. Apart from this, tribal communities could also access online medical assistance, update daily attendance on the online portal of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, and more. The internet has also become handy in passing information about wild animal activities to forest officials.
Reaching the tribal areas is a herculean task with no proper roads and deep trenches. At some point, the transportation of transmission mast and other materials were done using ropeways. The consortium has now submitted a project proposal to the BSNL to implement broadband internet services at Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad and Pathanamthitta.
WHAT AN IDEA!
Now, using air fibre technology, over 200 students in these hamlets can attend online classes. Tribal communities could also access online medical assistance and update daily attendance on the online portal of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Also, it helps pass information about wild animal activities to forest officials