Bhubaneswar, Feb. 4 -- As many as 238 villages in Odisha's tribal-dominated Koraput and Rayagada districts continue to remain without mobile network connectivity, the Central Government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The disclosure came in response to a question raised by Odisha Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, who flagged severe difficulties faced by residents of the two districts in accessing mobile data services. Ulaka sought details on the block-wise status of mobile towers approved under the Universal Service Obligation Fund, now known as Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), and asked when 100 per cent 4G connectivity and 5G services would be extended to the region.

Replying on behalf of the government, Minister of State for ...