Bhaktapur, October 28:

A few VDCs in Bhaktapur have been deprived of telephone services for the last seven months, thanks to the apathy the telecommunication authority.

Some 320 telephone lines have been disconnected in Tathali, Sudal and Chittapol VDCs due to the theft of telephone cables. In Tathali alone, 250 lines have been rendered phoney.

Shivaram Giri, a Tathali local, said locals had been facing problems to manage their businesses due to the disruption in telephone services.

“Our village seems like far away from the rest of the world. We have to waste a lot of time to disseminate and receive messages to and from friends,” said Maya Khatri.

No less pain a sister has been bearing. “My brother, who is studying in Australia for the last three years, used to call me in every Tihar. But this time I won’t be able to receive his call,” said Binita KC.

Laxmi Prajapati, chief of Nepal Telecom, Bhaktapur branch, said they had been trying to resume the services at the earliest.

“As soon as the staffers who are on Dashain and Tihar leave join the office, we will start the maintenance work,” he said.

According to Prajapati, the NT office had rented a room in the village to set up an ONU, a telephone exchange machine that can support around 500 new telephone lines.

Prajapati said installation of one meter cable costs the telecom authority Rs 700. Unavailability of the telephone service is also headache for the NT, as the state-run corporation has to incur a loss of around Rs 200,000 a month.