Two inundated phone exchanges restored in record time

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 26.

The official machinery may be receiving flak about its inability to reach out to flood-affected people in the twin cities, but here is one department which has been working without much ado while restoring the vital communication links that were damaged severely during the incessant rain.

The officials and workmen of the Department of Telecommunications have pulled off a major feat when they revived two inundated telephone exchanges in a record time. The Balanagar exchange having 9500 lines was flooded on Thursday morning and the officials manning it had immediately shut off the power supply.

On a war footing, authorities moved in and revived the exchange after replacing some equipment thereby restoring the telephone links in the area. However, about 1500 telephone instruments of customers which were drenched were not functioning in the area, according to Mr. J. Ramanujam, Chief General Manager of A.P. Telecom circle.

Similarly, the Barkatpura exchange with 11000 connections was completely submerged. The five staff members including a Divisional Engineer got trapped in the building and could not be rescued by the fire service personnel. The exchange could be accessed only on Friday and the restoration work began immediately. Full restoration could be completed by 5.30 a.m. on Saturday. In this exchange also about 2000 telephone instruments were not working because they were submerged.

Replying to a question, Mr Ramanujam said all the telephone instruments which were damaged due to floods would be replaced by the department. He said the department's godown in Padmaraonagar having equipment worth over Rs 4 crores was submerged, but the authorities were trying to repair the entire equipment. He was confident that the loss could only be in a few lakhs.

Though there was some damage to the optic fibre network in the State due to the rain, communication links could be maintained due to reliable medium this time. Traffic was diverted via other cables whenever a cable got damaged. About 10 medium exchanges and 39 small exchanges were affected. He complimented the staff of the department for their excellent work.

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Section  : Southern States
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