BSNL disrupts links with private firms for 10th day

He added,“The Police Department has gotten the numbers published in newspapers but very few people are calling on the alternative numbers.” A fire officer from Panchkula whose number has been given as a makeshift arrangement rued,“I am receiving very few calls on this number.”

Chandigarh Police sources said that ever since the services were disconnected,there has been a deficit of around 150 phone calls daily. On an average we used to receive 250 calls but now we are receiving only 100,said a police official.

No solution seems in sight in the near future. While the BSNL authorities have dubbed the private service operators “defaulters”,the latter are blaming BSNL for the current deadlock.

While on one hand the private service operators claim to have a ruling in their favour from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT),BSNL on the other hand is adamant that the private service operators must pay the revised carriage charges. Earlier,disconnectivity was confined only to Punjab but now it has been extended to Haryana.

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Ranjan Mathews criticised the BSNL authorities for not resuming services and causing inconvenience to the public. On the other hand,BSNL General Manager (Punjab Circle) Naresh Sharma said that the private service operators should pay up. He added,“We had given them a month’s notice and it was only after this that we disconnected the services.” Incidentally,Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited resumed services to the Tata and Reliance service providers three days ago. However,connectivity to Airtel,Vodafone and Idea continues to remain disrupted.

Owing to this standoff,it is the residents of the Tricity who are a harassed lot. “BSNL has other remedies available to charge the revised carriage charges from private service operators. It can move Court rather than harass its customers,” opined Rishabh Kapoor,a local resident.