J-K happy, wonders why Govt hung up

But those employed at the PCOs are relieved. ‘‘It is after months, I have money in my pocket today. People generally come to us when they have to talk business or pass on some urgent message. Today, they were just chatting and feeling good STD is back,’’ says Zahoor Ahmad, who runs a STD booth in Jawaharnagar locality.

Naseer Ahmad, who has re-opened his cyber-cafe for the first time since last December, can’t seem to understand the government’s logic: ‘‘If the phone links and internet connections were severed because the Government felt militants were misusing the facility especially when border tensions were on the rise, why are they being lifted now? It is good the authorities have realised the ban was foolish. How will you stop people with satellite phones? Then if you have money, you could even afford the luxury of connecting to the net from home through Delhi or Mumbai.’’

It is a fact that the militants do have state-of-art communication gadgets like satellite phones and even modern high frequency wireless sets to keep connected.

The business community — especially the tourism and apple trade — is probably the most relieved. ‘‘It was a big problem as our guests could not even keep in touch with their families. It was especially frustrating for the few foreign visitors.