MUMBAI, May 3: In the wake of the recent protests by telephone subscribers in the Vasai-Virar region against poor subscriber services, the Union Communications Minister Sushma Swaraj has promised to appoint a new general manager from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) specially for this region.Hitendra Thakur, MLA, said he, along with Union Minister of State for Railways Ram Naik met Swaraj in Delhi and submitted a memorandum to her listing the problems faced by the telephone subscribers. "The minister has promised to give the Vasai-Virar region a new general manager from the DoT soon," he said.The meeting was also attended by senior DoT officials who reportedly pointed out the difficulties in forming a new telecom district for Vasai. "But the minister has asked the officials to make the necessary amendments, so that a new telecom district can be formed for the 50,000-odd telephone subscribers in the region," Thakur said. The officials have also been asked to clear the backlog of bookings up to1997 with immediate effect.The Vasai-Virar region has a population of about 7 lakh, but it has only one exchange and 10 sub-exchanges, with just 7 linemen (technical staff) to rectify faults.
