Telecom services limp back, workers warned

Telecom services in India limped slowly back to normal on Friday as the government and a court warned agitating employees of tough action if they disrupted telecommunication lines.

Some 40,000 workers are protesting over job security when the Department of Telecom Services is converted into a state-owned company as part of government economic reform drive.

"Today it is normal, except for some congestion in the eastern sector," a communications ministry spokesman said.

He said long distance telephone lines which had been badly affected over the past 10 days were now fully operational. "It is only things like bill collection that could be delayed."

Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan who has faced flak for industrial action in the telecom sector was quoted as saying the government would come down hard on workers tampering with operations.

The United News of India news agency quoted Paswan as saying he had asked state heads of telecom services to report on disruptions and identify the guilty.

UNI quoted him as saying that a small group of people had held the country to ransom over "very small issues".

A Delhi court hearing a public interest litigation asked the government to take stern action against agitating employees.

Telecom engineers and officers want assurances, among others, on the financial viability of Bharat Sanchar Nigam, due to be carved out of DTS on October 1.

Ashok Sinha, president of Indian Telecom Services Association said his union's 4,000 members were carrying on with their work-to-rule protest. "There is no change in the situation, there are no talks going on," he said.

Telephone users in Delhi said it was still difficult to call through to Bombay and Calcutta and Orissa.

"My business has been very badly affected in the last four-five days due to the inability to connect to many parts of the country," said Shree Dhar, who runs a public telephone booth.

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