The person who reports that an unmarried woman or minor violated the ban will be given a reward of almost $3.
Villagers agree with the ban, as many view cell phones as tools used by young people to leave their homes and to elope.
Devshi Vankar, the village leader, said the Internet is a waste of time and money for a middle-class community like Suraj. Vankar said girls should make better use of their time for things such as studying and other works.
There is an exception to the rule. If a girl’s relative wants to speak with her, her parents can pass on their phones for the conversation.
The ban went into effect about two weeks ago, and it isn’t the first village to pass such a ban. The panchayat of Aligargh has a complete ban on cell phones for girls under the age of 18.
Parents who break the rules will have to sweep roads for fives days or they will be forced to pay a fan of around $14. Ramveer, the Panchayat coordinator, said girls become spoiled when they use phones, and they get involved with boys at a young age.
Ramveer said this leads to crimes against the girls, and before technology came along, these problems didn’t exist. Ramveer said they needed to take action to curb it.
