Assam: Mobile internet services to be disabled for eight hours on Sunday

The mobile internet services will be disabled in Assam for eight hours on Sunday due to written examinations scheduled for recruitment to the vacant Class-III posts in various government establishments, said the government on Saturday.
The internet services on mobile will remain suspended from 8.30am to 4:30 pm, to maintain sanctity of the exam process.
However, the government notification clarified that the voice calls and the broadband connectivity based on fixed telephone lines shall remain functional during the aforesaid period.
The Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) has been engaged as the testing agency by the State Level Recruitment Commission to conduct the examination. The written examination will be conducted at 822 examination centres covering 27 districts of the state.
Around 7.34 lakh candidates have applied to appear in the recruitment examinations.
The exam will be conducted in two shifts — The first shift for Bachelor’s Degree level Class-III posts will take place from 9 am to 12 noon and the second shift for HSLC (Driver) posts from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
In a notification, the government said that it desires that the written examination should be held in a free, fair and transparent manner to select the best candidates purely on merit and no malpractices should be allowed during the examination.
Assam government noted that on earlier such occasions it has been observed that some unscrupulous elements resorted to unfair means using different Mobile Applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, X(Twitter), YouTube and Cam-scanner, which are based on Internet/Wi-Fi/ Mobile Data Connectivity.
“In the interest of holding a free, fair and transparent written examination and also to prevent the arising of any law and order issues having bearing on public safety, I, Shri Ajay Tewari, IAS, Addl. Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, Home & Political Department, hereby promulgate this Notification under the provision of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 to prohibit the Mobile Internet/ Mobile Wi-fi/ Mobile Data Service of all Mobile Service Providers in the entire state of Assam from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on 29th September 2024 (Sunday).” said the order.
The order stated that the violation of the promulgation would be punishable under Section 223 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and also under the relevant Provision of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.