A 'PCO' without phones!

This is perhaps the only ‘PCO’ where there are no telephones but is the lone spot from where villagers can connect with the outside world.

A small concrete pulpit atop a hillock in this remote village of Nongnah, about 130 km west of Shillong, has been christened as ‘phone booth’ by locals. For, this is the only place where they get mobile phone network.

“We have to climb up this hill and reach this ‘public booth’ to make and receive calls. Most of the villagers have to walk for about 20 minutes to reach here,” one of them said.

There are about 3,000 residents in this nondescript village of Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills district and the nearest PCO is more than 15 km away. More than 50 per cent of the villagers have mobile connections, either Reliance or Bangladesh Grameen Phone.

The villagers said that though the ‘public booth’ is the only communication link for them to the outside world, they sometimes fail to get network even from there.

Government officials, who visit the place, are also caught in this communication trauma. While this village is yet to enjoy the advent of new technology where distances are cut short through mobile or telephone communication, sub-divisional officer of the area K Nongbri said, “I am aware of the problems. Development will take place.”