JHANG, Dec 19: Irregularities of the PTCL high-ups posted here are causing problems for new connection seekers.

The applicants are finding it exceedingly difficult to get new telephone connections as the spare lines are being utilized by illegal telephone extensions, allowed generously by the PTCL higher authorities to their friends, relatives, politicians, influential businessmen and offices of various departments like Wapda, police, health, agriculture and revenue, inflicting heavy financial loss to the organization.

The PTCL telephone extensions are strictly banned as a policy matter and the telephone number on which an extension is being used is liable to be disconnected immediately after detection. The policy is aimed at creating room for new applicants and an extension results in denial of grant of a new connection.

The presence of illegal extensions is not the only irregularity of the PTCL bosses in Jhang. The other irregularity is the use of long range cordless phones as public call offices in the rural areas. It is proving a flourishing business, being run with the connivance of PTCL officials. In this case, the original number is installed in a house in the city, but it is in use through a long range cordless telephone set in a shop in a village. These illegal PCOs are providing phone facilities to the people at extremely exorbitant rates, sometimes at Rs10 per minute for a local call.

Giving a few such numbers, a PTCL official, on condition of anonymity, told this scribe that telephone 643025 installed as a domestic connection in Haveli Bahadur Shah was being illegally used as a cordless PCO at Gulgashat Agricultural Farm, 12 kilometres from its sanctioned place. Another telephone number 647216 installed at Malhowana Morr was being used at a distance of 10 kilometres as a PCO.

He said telephone No 647117 installed in Malhowana was disconnected without any other reason to give commercial advantage to another phone No 643025 operating as a cordless PCO in a nearby shop.

He attributed these irregularities to the posting of officials domiciled in Jhang district on top posts in the department. These local officers go out of the way to oblige their relatives and friends, sometimes at the expense of the department.

Citing one such example, the source said one Fazil Vaince, who happened to be a very close friend of a top PTCL official, applied for a telephone connection at his dera on the Jhang-Gojra road, about eight kilometres from here. The dera was at a distance of 1.5 kms from the nearest DP. Twelve poles and 900 metres of cable costing Rs36,000 and Rs6,000 respectively were required to connect the premises with the DP. The officer sanctioned the connection without charging a single paisa from his friend, showing the distance as only 50 meters in the record.

Another irregularity is in the allotment of houses in the PTCL colony. A majority of houses allotted to the PTCL employees have been allotted illegally to outsiders. When an aggrieved employee complained against the irregularity, an inquiry was ordered. The allegations were proved right but, instead of taking any action against the illegal occupants, one of the complainants was transferred to a far off place and the outsider continues to occupy the house.