LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Nov 10: Telephone subscribers in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency have complained about recurring line faults and disconnections of their lines.

It is learnt that more than 200 modules at the Bara telephone exchange have been out of order for two months, causing unending complaints of line fault.

In most cases the phone line is disconnected by the PTCL authorities after subscribers refuse to deposit monthly bills as most subscribers complained that their lines were out of order for most of the time. There are more than 4000 telephone subscribers in Bara.

A subscriber and former secretary-general of the Awami National Party, Khyber Agency, Sahar Gul, alleged that around eight telephone lines in his family were disconnected by authorities after they refuse to deposit bills.

He alleged that he, along with his other family members, registered a number of complaints with the Bara Phone Exchange officials for recurrent line faults in telephone numbers 872522, 872253, 872251, 872233, 872422, 872587, 872374 and 871066 but to no avail. "We were left with no other choice but to refuse paying our monthly phone bills," he added.

Mr Gul also alleged that most line men in Bara were working on their posts beyond their stipulated official time period. He alleged that linemen demand bribe from subscribers for removing a line fault.

Bara telephone supervisor Iftikhar Khan said that they had long placed an order with their high ups for new modules but had not yet received them. As long as these faulty modules were not replaced, subscribes would face line faults.