Rukawat ke liye khed nahin hai, says Virar telephone exchange

BSNL broadband and landline services blocked, affecting banks, individuals; National telecom company is in no hurry to restore connectionu00a0

Residents of Vasai, Virar and Nala Sopara haven't been able to use their Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) landline and Internet for the past month. While work and businesses have been affected, the residents are furious about the delay in repairing the lines. Virar resident Anish Thakar, 28, said, "I am a computer engineer and all my work depends on my Internet connection. I have clients living in Nigeria. I need phone lines to work throughout the day. I have been unable to work for the past month." Raj Guru, the telephone exchange officer at the Virar exchange said, "There are 20,000 phones that are not working, and this has affected several people. But the problem can be solved only by the main office in Kalyan."


A sign hung at the Virar Telephone Exchange announces that broadband
and telephone lines are down due to cable break. Pic/ Nimesh Dave

General Manager of Kalyan BSNL AV Kulkarni however, passed the problem off as a minor maintenance issue. "A wire was cut accidentally while repair work was in progress on May 25 at 12 am. We have sent our team to repair it, and lines will start working soon."u00a0 However, the problem is not four days old as Kulkarni claims. While Thakar's telephone and Internet connection has been gone for close to a month, other residents have been facing the problem for at least a week. "The Internet has been disconnected for the past seven days. Everyone in our locality is facing the same problem," said 23 year-old Vikas Fadia, a resident of Jain Mandir road, Virar.

The locality's banks have faced a problem too. Bank of Baroda (Virar branch) Manager BC Balsara said, "Our work is completely dependent on the Internet connection. The BSNL lines have not been working for a month. We are using V-Set in place of BSNL. Other banks in the vicinity are facing similar concerns." "When I approached the BSNL office in Virar and Kalina, they suggested I change my connection," said a harrowed 44 year-old Virar-resident Nayan Jain.