Fire at Navrangpura BSNL exchange still remains a mystery

Published: Sunday, Apr 22, 2012, 16:57 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

The cause of the fire that broke out in a room near the switch of the BSNL exchange at Navrangpura in the wee hours of Wednesday has still baffled officials and the cops. For the state-owned telecom company, BSNL, which has now restored the 32,000 of the 39,000 lines which got disconnected due to the inferno, the cause of the fire is still unknown.
Both, BSNL as well as the police, have not been able to ascertain the cause of the mysterious fire that have caused massive loss. “A team from Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) had come on the same day and took samples. Looking at the wiring and electronics, it is difficult to believe that a short circuit may have led to the incident. Being a computerised exchange, no one was present in the room hence nobody knows the cause. So we are waiting for FSL reports, which may come some time soon,” said PGM, BSNL Gujarat circle, SK Bhandari.
The switch, damage to which led to the disconnected phone lines, was installed in the exchange 12 years back in 2000. At that time, the cost of the switch was around Rs1.90 crore.
“The fire did not break out in the switch. But owing to fire, smoke and carbon particles along with the water used to dowse the fire, the whole switch has now become a piece of junk. It was completely damaged,” he said.
Meanwhile, by Saturday evening, of the 39,000 lines that went dead due to the inferno, around 32,000 were restored temporarily.
“Of the total lines which got disconnected on Wednesday, around 37,000 belong to Ahmedabad city, while the remaining 2,000 are from rural areas around Ahmedabad. By diverting lines to Gandhinagar and Railwaypura exchanges, as of now, we have restored 32,000 lines. The remaining 7,000 will be restored soon as well,” said Bhandari.
At present, there are around 17 lakh landline subscribers of BSNL in Gujarat, of which around 4 lakh lines are installed in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. “As the switch at Navrangpura exchange is completely damaged, we have to bring in another switch from the Jalandhar office. This hardware will be installed and the exchange is expected to be back to full operation in the next three months,” said Bhandari.

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