Chandigarh, February 19: Amid ongoing farmers' protest against the three controversial farm laws, telecom operator Reliance Jio witnessed a decline of around 20 lakh subscribers in December 2020 in Punjab and Haryana. The data was released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday. As per the data, Jio lost around 15 lakh subscribers.

Jio subscribers in Punjab declined to 1.25 crore in December last year from 1.40 crore as of November 2020. Similarly, in Haryana also, the customer base of Jio dipped to 89.07 lakh in December 2020 from 94.48 lakh in November 2020. Farmers Target Jio Mobile Towers In Punjab As Protests Against Farm Bills Continue; CM Amarinder Singh Issues Warning As Over 1500 Towers Damaged.

It was the second time, the telecom operator witnessed fall in subscribers in Punjab after the commercial launch in 2016. In December 2019, all telecom operators except government-owned BSNL faced loss in customer base. However, it was the first time in Haryana when the company's customer base declined since its launch, reported The Indian Express.

Last year in December, reports also surfaced that around 1,500 telecom towers of Jio were disrupted in Punjab allegedly by farmers. Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh issued a stern warning on December 28 against vandalisation of mobile towers and disruption of telecom services in the state. He asked the police to take strict action in such cases. Jio Call Rates: All Off-Net Reliance Jio Calls to Any Network in India to be Free from January 1, 2021.

In January this year, Jio reported a 15.5 per cent growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December to Rs 3,489 crore. During the July-September quarter, the company's net profit stood at Rs 3,020 crore. The telecom major's operating revenue during the period under review stood at 19,475 crore, higher by 5.3 per cent on QoQ basis, the company said in a statement.

Notably, Farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the three farm laws enacted by the government in September last year. Since November 26, 2020, farmers have been camping at Delhi borders against the legislations. They fear that the new laws would dilute the minimum support price (MSP) by destroying APMCs as private players would be allowed in the agriculture sector.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2021 01:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).