Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 30: During the underground cable laying work in Srinagar, the Power Development Department (PDD) has damaged vital telephone line along Dr Ali Jan Road, Eidgah rendering hundreds of landline connections defunct.
The work was kick-started a week ago wherein the department is digging the way on the sidelines of the road in order to lay the cables. During the work, few days ago, all the landline connections in the area were snapped.
It was only after the locals raised the issue that the officials of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) reached to the spot only to find out that a 300-pair telephone line was damaged at more than three spots.
The locals in the area are aghast saying that the PDD was well-aware of the fact that there are telephone lines along the way they were carrying out the works. “In spite of that, they (PDD) did not exercise caution, thus damaging the telephone lines,” a local said.
An official in the BSNL-overlooking the functioning in the area-also confirmed that the vital line which is catering to the needs of several areas along the road has been damaged during the works carried out by the PDD at three spots. “Repairing is not going to work and we are contemplating to put in a new cable which is going to take some time now,” he said
The locals who are residing along the road further added that such misadventures are a norm along the road and it is often seen that one after the other department come on the pretext of one work or the other and start defacing the road.
“Last year, the administration carried out patchwork on the road as there were potholes that had made commuting on the road difficult; then the PHE department came and starting digging the road-there seems no coordination between the departments,” another local of Firdous colony said.
The locals have appealed the administration that the repair works are carried out immediately on the cable that has been damaged and some plan is chalked out in order to buildup coordination among the departments.
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