Harrowing times are far from over for BSNL landline subscribers in the state capital's Hinoo locality housing important addresses like Birsa Munda airport and the Ranchi Met office as telephone connections, which were snapped due to road widening work on March 2 but revived at some establishments after a few days, have gone back to the dead.
BSNL landline services in and around Hinoo Chowk remained out of order till Holi (March 6). Some of the disrupted connections at the airport and Ranchi Meteorological Centre, all lying within a radius of 2km from Hinoo, were restored on March 7 after The Telegraph highlighted the plight of the locality in a report, Airport phones pay for road job, on March 5 and BSNL DGM (finance) Ram Lal Mahto promised action.
But the respite was brief.
All lines except one at the Met office have been non-functional since March 14. The situation is no better at the airport, where over a dozen phones are erratically functioning, putting officials at the end of their tether.
"The phone lines in the operations and technical wings are functioning. Those in the terminal are not. And we are tired of calling up the BSNL office to register complaints," said Raju Raghavendra, director of Birsa Munda Airport.
The weathermen at the Met office, when contacted over mobile phones, pleaded for help.
" Bahut thak gaye hain roz complaints karte karte. Ab to sadak ka kaam bhi ho gaya par hum logon ka phone nahin (We are tired of complaining every day. Even the road widening work is over now, but our phone lines are still dead)," an official said.
They were not wrong.
The Telegraph also had a hard time contacting the BSNL brass on Friday morning to know what actions they are taking to bail out the distressed consumers.
Requests to connect the phone line to the office of Labh Singh, chief general manager, BSNL, Jharkhand, were not considered. Singh's assistant, after hearing the reasons behind the call, gave the number of the general manager of Ranchi Om Prakash, saying he was the right contact person. But Prakash's assistant said " saheb" was not in office and passed on another phone number, this time of Amrendra Kumar, deputy general manager, Ranchi.
The calls at Kumar's office went unanswered.
Asked about protocols followed before starting any road widening work, Ram Naresh Raman, engineer-in-chief of road construction department, told The Telegraph: "We always inform the telephone service providers, electricity department and water supply department before undertaking jobs like the one at Hinoo. But if you expect us to wait for them for cooperation, then half the work will never be done."
Many like Rashmi Kumari, a music teacher, are planning to take the legal route. "I am waiting for the phone bill to take legal action. When we fail to pay bills, then lines are immediately disconnected. Then why can't action be taken against BSNL for keeping our phones out of order for such a long time? Will they waive a month's bill?" she asked.
