[ Memory Tatung ]
The Padu paddy fields in Mopom circle of Upper Siang district are slowly becoming Arunachal's newest postcard. With golden terraces, the Silli-Jeru hills in the backdrop and the quiet, collective labour of Adi farmers, Padu is drawing tourists, photographers and content creators from across the state.
The irony is hard to miss - Padu is going viral on social media, but Padu itself has no network.
In an era of 5G, villages like Padu, Sibum, Jeru and Silli in southeastern Upper Siang still live in what can only be called digital darkness. To make a phone call, people climb a hillock. To send a WhatsApp message, they wait. The internet is still a rumour.
The impact is not abstract.
For students of the area who study in Yingkiong or Pasighat and return home, education stops at the village gate. CUET forms, APPSC preparation, online classes, scholarship portals - everything needs internet. A student recently had to travel to Pasighat just to download his admit card.
For local vendors and women SHGs selling organic vegetables, local rice, and ethnic food to tourists near the fields, business stops where network stops. Visitors want to pay via UPI or GPay, but without signal, cash is the only option, and many sales are lost. The potential for homestays and online booking, which could give real income to villagers, remains untapped.
And for tourism, this is now a safety concern. The footfall in Padu has doubled in the last two tourist seasons. But if a tourist meets with an accident, a medical emergency, or a sudden weather event, how will he contact emergency services? In a disaster-prone district like Upper Siang, communication is not a luxury; it is a lifeline.
This raises a serious question. Mopom is barely 40 kilometres from Pasighat smart city. If BharatNet, Digital India, and the 4G saturation project under the USOF cannot reach 40 km from a smart city, where will it reach?
Development in 2026 cannot be measured only in roads and concrete. Digital connectivity is basic infrastructure today, like water and electricity. It connects a student to a classroom, a farmer to a market, a patient to a doctor, and a tourist to safety.
Padu has shown how community effort can preserve a landscape and create a sustainable tourism model without government support. Its farmers have done their part. Now, the administration must do its part. What it needs is a small, practical step. A low-cost micro tower by Jio or Airtel - both already expanding in rural Siang - or a BSNL tower under the 4G saturation scheme of the USOF can cover Padu, Sibum and Silli together. BharatNet fibre has already reached Mopom circle office; only the last-mile wireless link is missing. The district administration and the local MLA can jointly place this as a 'tourism + connectivity' pilot - low investment for the operator, high visibility at a fast-growing tourist spot.
Padu's fields have the beauty to attract the world. Its people now deserve the connectivity to stay connected with it. (The writer is an MA mass communication student at Arunachal Pradesh University, Pasighat)
