Blanket internet ban in Darjeeling to impair the communication and coordination of those agitating for a separate state, has also stifled reportage of the unrest from ground zero.

First, mobile internet was suspended on 18 June and two days later, broadband was also shut down. The ban is now extended till 25 July and two cellular operators have been served show-cause notices for not complying with the ban fully.

While reporting from the conflict zone is arduous as it is, the blanket ban on the internet has made it even more of an uphill task. Ashish Bantaba, a reporter for Hamro Prajashakti, a daily that is published from Sikkim and Assam, told Firstpost that during the initial days of the internet ban, he would travel 50-60 kilometre to Jorethang, a major town in south Sikkim, for internet connectivity to send his stories. But since travelling that far and back on a hilly terrain every day is not feasible, he said he now dictates the news to his desk over the phone and sends inputs through SMS. The cumbersome process of getting his story across has limited his reporting.