Juzer Kabira, an industrialist in Hadapsar, said, “When I contacted BSNL for enquiry, they told me that it was due to the excavation work that the lines got damaged. I have a small scale industry and have been facing similar problems since last one and a half year. The telephone lines often get damaged due to the digging work by PMC.”

When contacted, G S Dhokrat, deputy engineer BSNL said, “The telephone cables contain copper and are often stolen by thieves when left open. PMC does excavation work and leaves the cables open. This is a regular problem with PMC as they do such kind of works without keeping us in the loop. This time as well, had they kept us informed, we would have appointed a watchman at the venue. A 45-metre cable piece has been stolen and BSNL has suffered a loss of Rs 25,000. We have already sent notice to PMC to bear the losses.” Dhokrat said the work is in progress and the lines will be functional after 6.00 pm on February 7.