Farmers' protest: Haryana extends suspension of mobile internet in 7 districts till February 21

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Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana on Tuesday extended the temporary ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts of the state till Wednesday i.e. February 21 in the wake of farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation.

The move aims to stop the spread of misinformation through various social media platforms, and to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order, the government said. The state government in its order stated that the conditions are still critical and tense in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa districts and that there is a clear potential for disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and disturbance of law and order in these districts.

In the order, Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana TVSN Prasad said, "After assessment of the prevailing law and order situation in the state, conditions are still critical and tense in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts." "There is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in above-mentioned districts on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours," Prasad said. The state government had earlier extended the suspension of mobile internet on February 13, 15, 17 and 19.

The order has been issued under Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and Rule 2 of Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017. According to the order, the suspension of mobile internet services, bulk SMS (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks except voice calls in the