For BSNL, cable cuts have continued unabated especially in Yerawada, Dapodi and Chinchwad. “Currently, we are having our cables cut because of road widening up to seven times daily in Chinchwad. Not only has this cost us Rs one crore each on an average per month for our west, central, east, and Chinchwad zones in repair works, we have lost customers as well. In Chinchwad especially, we have already lost upto 5,000 customers because of frequent cable cuts,” said D K Maheshwari, Principal General Manager, and BSNL.

Citing specific examples, Maheshwari said that in October, November and December, the company recorded around 100 instances of cable wires getting cut at Dapodi. In Paud Road between January 1 and 10, there were cable cuts on a particular route every night during road widening.

Officials here argued that along with better roads, telecommunications qualify as core infrastructure service as well. “Building one infrastructure service is bringing ruin for the other one. If one takes an aerial x-ray shot of cable on B T Kawde road, it will have a joint at every five metres. This is the result of callousness of workers involved in road widening,” said an official.

BSNL records said that on the Lohegaon airport road route, from June to December 2007, the cables have been cut up to 70 times on either side of the road. In the three months leading up to December, Yerwada saw 200 cases of cable cuts. Cable disruptions in Yerwada has disrupted connections in Vishrantwadi as well. “These cable cuts happen on the same route. In a month, if PMC workers lay a stretch of say 200 metres, the cables lying underground get cut at least 10 times. We rarely get permission to repair them on time, but if we do then the same connections are disrupted on the same route when the municipal workers lay the next 200 metres of road in the following month,” he said.

Despite PMC assurance, BSNL officials are jittery about the next few months as road widening progresses. While cable cuts due to road works is a common feature in most cities, officials say that it is acute in Pune. On an average, BSNL officials report cable disruptions 25-30 times at different locations each day when road widening is on. “This is an index of the kind of road works that is getting done in the city,” said Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi. He said BSNL would face problems now, but not in the future as ducts are in the process of being laid across the city.

“Cable ducts have been laid at Karve Road, Alandi Road, Nagar Road and Baner Road and this year it will be laid at old Bombay Pune highway, Ganeshkhind road and Solapur-Satara Road. This will help BSNL workers repair cut cables without digging up the roads,” said Pardeshi.