In a stark illustration of India's persisting digital divide, residents of remote villages in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district are being forced to undertake arduous treks up icy hillsides. Their mission is not for water or supplies, but to capture a fleeting mobile network signal to complete the mandatory biometric e-KYC for their ration cards.
A Grueling Climb for Digital Verification
The scene is particularly dire in Ratirkheti village, located in the Kapkot block. Here, nearly 700 residents have no mobile network coverage in their homes. To comply with the government's digital mandate, they must walk 1.5 kilometers uphill to a specific 300-meter peak. Braving biting cold winds, they wait for hours on cold stones, hoping for a signal strong enough to complete their biometric authentication.
"There is no signal in the village. To complete e-KYC, we have no option but to climb the hill," explained Laxman Singh, a local resident. Another villager, Dalip Singh, highlighted the irony of the situation, stating, "We are being asked to go digital, but there is no network."
Women and Children Bear the Brunt
The hardship is amplified for women and children. They often carry packed meals and their young ones to the hilltop, spending entire days in the cold. Tara Devi shared her ordeal, saying, "If we catch the signals, our work is done. Otherwise, we sit on stones till evening, waiting for the network." This daily struggle has turned a routine administrative update into a test of physical endurance and patience for entire families.
Officials Acknowledge Widespread Network Gaps
Local authorities have recognized the problem. Officials cite approximately 90 "shadow zones" within Bageshwar district where network connectivity is weak or entirely absent. District Food Supply Officer GB Pandey noted that a large-scale verification drive is ongoing. Efforts are being made to minimize inconvenience for the district's 63,000 ration cardholders, who represent nearly 2.57 lakh beneficiaries.
While the initial deadline of December 15 for completing the e-KYC has passed, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has provided some relief. Cardholders can still complete their verification under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Across Uttarakhand, out of over 6 million ration card units, about 4.8 million have successfully completed the process. A new deadline for the remaining beneficiaries is expected to be announced soon.
This situation in Bageshwar underscores a critical challenge in India's digital push: infrastructure must keep pace with policy. For thousands in the hills, accessing a basic digital service remains a physically demanding task, highlighting the urgent need to bridge the connectivity gap in remote regions.
