HYDERABAD, March 9 A large number of telephone subscribers of Gulab Leghari in Badin district on Monday condemned closure of Manik Leghari digital telephone exchange and demanded an inquiry against the general manager of PTCL's Hyderabad region for shutting down the facility on flimsy grounds.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club, Abdul Ghafoor Leghari, Abdul Karim Leghari and others said that the PTCL authorities closed the exchange on Jan 31, causing problems for 133 telephone subscribers of the area.

They said that the general manager had so far shut down 22 telephone exchanges in the region and appealed to the National Assembly speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza and PTCL chairman to restore telephone facility to subscribers.

They also staged a token hunger strike outside the press club.

Meanwhile, PPP's MPA Basheer Ahmed Leghari paid a visit to the hunger strikers' camp and assured them that he would speak to authorities and get the matter solved after which the strike was called off.