While there is characteristic chaos at the Pune Telecom offices with officials and PROs passing the buck on exactly when the exercise to change city telephone numbers to seven digit will be completed, sources say that the task should be complete in three months time.

According to Pramod Khachane, directory officer, due to the inconvenience caused to city subscribers whose present directories are almost defunct now, a new directory is being planned earlier that usual this year. The need for this was felt because one third of the numbers in the directory presently in circulation are incorrect, thanks to the seven digit fetish brought on by the promise of more connections.

The new directory, which is expected by July/August, will, however, bear data corrected upto the end of April only. April data will be collected and in about three months time the directory should be distributed to the subscribers, say officials. The number change is going on at a break neck speed with numbers already changed in Yerawada, city and Satara Road areas. ``We are giving a notice period of about three weeks to subscribers before changing their numbers so that they can have a chance to inform friends and relatives,'' says P P Shinde, spokesperson for Pune Telecom.

However, it is changing directories that will be an expensive proposition for citizens, with the remaining two-third numbers also expected to change to seven digits in the next three months. At Rs 150 a copy, the directory is expensive, specially when two-thirds of the numbers it carries will have changed by the time it is distributed.

Last year, the telephone directories were published in August and distributed in September. Whether the July/August directory will be the only one this year or the first of two, is not being disclosed as yet.