Union minister climbs tree in R'than to make phone call

In an incident quite ironical  to the popular campaigns of the BJP government such as Digital India and Transforming India, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal had to climb a tree to receive signal on his mobile.

The minister was visiting a village in his parliamentary constituency Bikaner on Sunday as part of a media campaign when he lost the network. While hearing the grievances of the villagers at Dhoolia village in Bikaner, located in the middle of sand dunes, the minister dialled the number of the government official concerned and he was unable to connect due to poor signal.

As villagers kept complaining about the poor health facilities, the minister tried to contact the medical officer several times and was unable to connect.

A few villagers told him that it’s hard to catch signals in the village, but one can make it happen from a certain height and he should climb a tree. The 62-year-old minister followed the instructions and tried to climb a tree.

“The minister realised that he's unable to climb a tree, so he asked for a ladder and villagers in no time provided him with one. Villagers erected the ladder against the tree trunk and the minister climbed the tree,” an eye witness told DH.

After climbing the tree his phone started detecting the signals and the minister was able to make a phone call.  The video showing the minister balancing on the ladder and speaking to officials went viral on the social media.

The minister climbing the tree came as a blessing in disguise for the villagers as he announced setting up of mobile towers in the villages within three months.