MIANWALI, Feb 8: A majority of the PTCL subscribers in the city are suffering constant mental torture as their phones have not been working properly for the last six months due to construction of an underpass.

Ibrar Muhammad Ali, PTCL assistant divisional engineer, said that before the start of this project it was settled with the previous district government that an amount of Rs2.60 million would be paid to the company for shifting of its system from the project area. He said no one bothered to pay the amount to the company. Instead, the project was initiated, resulting in destruction of the PTCL network supporting 12,000 cable pairs, he said.

He added the PTCL officials concerned lodged a protest with the present district authorities who, after long discussions, agreed to bear the expenses of civil work and provide assistance to shift the cables before start of further construction. To utter dismay of the PTCL officials, the district government again started the construction without shifting the cables which caused the glitch.