KARACHI, May 7: The chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd, Akhtar Ahmed Bajwa, has expressed satisfaction over the PTCL’s development works in the city, besides Sindh and Balochistan, specially the digitalization of analogue telephones.
Presiding over a high-level meeting here on Tuesday, Mr Bajwa directed the director-general and all the regional general managers to complete telephone digitalization in Karachi by May 31.
It may be mentioned here that the PTCL had decided to digitalize all the analogue telephone numbers free of cost, as the analogue system had fulfilled its life.
The customers now need not go to the telephone exchange to apply for digitalization of their analogue numbers.
Earlier, on the directive of DG (Operation) South, the two GMs of STR I and II had speeded up the process of digitalization of telephones in Karachi.
DIRECTORIES: A large number of PTCL customers residing in the jurisdiction of Azizabad, Sabzimandi and New Karachi exchanges have complained to the concerned authorities regarding the non-delivery of PTCL directories of 2001-2002.
Responding to the complaints, Director Zone-VIII of STR-III, Masood Bhatti, has formed a complaint cell headed by himself and supported by Eng Musa Raza with telephone number 6374696 and fax no 6374691, at which the customers who have not received their current PTCL directories, can give their telephone numbers for the free delivery of directories by the corporation.
According to details, PTCL has about 120,000 customers in Zone-VIII which cover the region from Liaquatabad No 10 to Shafiq Mills in F.B. Area and New Sabzimandi, including parts of Gadap Town and New Karachi areas up to Manghopir.
Nearly 40 per cent of customers in Zone-VIII which comes to more than 50,000 connections have not received their directories due to a number of reasons, which include slackness and irresponsibility of linemen.
Though PTCL is distributing the three-volume directory set free of cost to its customers, linemen sell the set for about Rs30 to various dealers and one can buy the set at Rs50 in New Karachi areas.
Other buyers of these directories include small restaurants and vendors who use the pages to sell deep-fried eatables. These people usually buy one volume for Rs15.
It may be recalled that the last time the PTCL printed its directories was in 1996.
Mr Bhatti informed that after receiving a complaint, the cell will check whether the directories have been sent to the number or not.—APP/PPI