Ambala: Suspension of mobile Internet hits normal life, traders bear the brunt

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, February 12

The suspension of mobile Internet by the government amid the farmer’s call for Delhi march tomorrow has affected normal life, especially for those who have to use their phones to make a living.

After online transactions became popular, small traders, shopkeepers, and even vegetable and fruit sellers started putting barcodes and accepting online payments, but due to the suspension of mobile internet, the same are lying useless.

Dinesh Aggarwal, a confectionery shop owner, said, “The suspension of Internet has forced us to ask the customers to make payment in cash only. Earlier in the day, a customer after having snacks said he forgot that the internet was not working, and he was not even carrying cash. Since he was a regular customer, I asked him to pay later. The government should restore the Internet at the earliest.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Ashish Sharma, who runs a famous eatery, said, “On Sunday, five customers after having food claimed they were not carrying cash and were not aware that the online payment would not be possible. We had no other option but to ask them to pay later, and put up notices that online payments would not take place. A majority of our customers prefer making online payments.”

Gian Prakash Kansal, a retired personnel, said, “The ban has caused a lot of inconvenience to those whose work depends on the Internet. Instead of stopping all Internet facilities, the government should have temporarily banned some social media platforms and applications to stop the spreading of information.”

Meanwhile, a branch manager of a nationalised bank in Ambala said, “The internal functioning of the banks is not affected. Ever since the digital payments got popular, a majority of the customers had started using mobile applications to make transactions and used to carry limited cash. But due to the internet suspension, the digital payments are not taking place and the load at the ATM kiosks and the branches have almost doubled. Similar is the issue with the Point of Sales (POS) machines.”

“People are coming for cash withdrawals and it has also affected the payments of big businessmen who used to transfer their payments online. Now people are coming to banks to deposit cheques and other transactions,” he added.