Mirza Abdur Rob Bulbul, Chalanbeel :: The telephone office in Tarash upazila of Sirajgonj district started its journey in the early 1970s. At one time, the use of telephones in almost all homes, businesses, government and non-government offices and courts in this area was eye-catching, according to the locals. With the advent of modernity, the use of telephones has decreased to a large extent.
On-site information search showed that when we went to the Tarash office of Bangladesh Telecommunication Ltd., the office was found locked, besides, no people were found in the office, grass was seen growing on the walls around the office. The entire office is in a dilapidated condition.
After the digital exchange, many customers were interested in getting a telephone connection because of the convenience of using a fax machine with the telephone. On the other hand, with the increase in the use of mobile phones, customers have turned away from the telephone. Customers said that due to the fact that the telecommunication connection is often disrupted due to emergency needs, they are losing interest in the telephone day by day. For this reason, most of the customers said that they have deliberately disconnected their desired connection.
In order to bring the telephone industry back to its previous position, its technological development is urgently needed. On condition of anonymity, the lineman said that if the connection is disconnected for various reasons, including repairing the underground connection cable, it becomes difficult to repair it. In addition, it takes a long time to find the place where the connection is disconnected due to the lack of necessary equipment. Moreover, work is delayed due to manpower shortage.
If the manpower and necessary equipment are increased, quick repair work is possible. Many of the residents of the area, on condition of anonymity, said that the reason behind such a bad condition of the telephone office is the negligence, indifference and lack of supervision of the authorities, which has made it unusable, and grass has now grown all around the telephone office building, which is visible in the picture.
Locals said that this government institution has become neglected day by day due to the negligence of the officials/employees working here. In this regard, the employee of the telephone exchange, on condition of anonymity, said that according to my knowledge, there were more than 140 telephone connections in this upazila after digitalization. Currently, this government institution is facing losses due to the dominance of mobile phones. However, he said that the higher authorities of the telephone exchange are taking various steps to make up for the losses and take it to a profitable level. Regarding the closure of the office, he said that such a situation exists due to manpower shortage.
