November 03, 2008	Monday	Ziqa'ad 4, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 2: Nearly 400 employees of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) have been waiting for about six months for the possession of the residences offered to them by the company, as the occupants who have already accepted the company’s voluntary separation scheme (VSS) have not been vacating the houses.

Sources in the PTCL said the company had issued legal notices to the occupants of its residential quarters, situated in different parts of the city, asking them to vacate the houses within a week.

Some of the residential quarters are Napier Barracks Officers Colony, KDA Overseas Colony (Gulshan-i-Iqbal), Malir Colony (Aiport) and KDA T&T Flats (Shadman Town).

A source in the PTCL said the company had allotted the 400 quarters to some other employees a few months ago anticipating their vacation.

The PTCL officials concerned realise the gravity of the situation but they appear confident that the problem would be resolved in the next few weeks.

“We are determined to get these facilities vacated within the shortest possible time and have rejected every condition the former employees had put forward to the PTCL management,” said the company’s executive vice-president, Ali Qadir Gilani.