Over 8,000 Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) telephone lines in Thane Central are dead for several days after sensitive telephone mains by a contractor of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) while carrying out some repairs on the underground drains.

According to sources, the cables were clearly visible at a depth of about four feet under the junction of the Ram Maruthi Road and the V S Road. However, the supervisors at the site did not bother to inquire about the cables with the TMC and nearly uprooted them.

Within seconds, telephone lines in areas like Ram Maruthi Road, Dr Moose Road, Gamdevi Road, Lazar Road, LBS Marg, Gantali Road, Karve Road, Gadkari Road, Bhaskar Colony, Brahmin Society, Damani Estate, Gokhale Road, M G Road and Shivaji Pathwent dead.

The MTNL Thane-Charia exchange was flooded with thoudands of complaints from subscribers, and the fault was traced to the ongoing civic works site.

MTNL General Manager, Public Relations, Anil S Lele, confirmed the damage to the lines due to the civic contractor's negligence. ``We have taken up the matter with the concerned TMC officials and lodged complaints against the contractor for negligence. Such damage to telephone cables is absolutely avoidable and requires other agencies like the MSEB etc to exercise caution while digging,'' he said.

He added that the repairing of the cables was already underway and the MTNL was trying its best to restore the telephone lines. ``However, due to extensive damage, it will take nearly a week to restore complete normalcy,'' he added.

No TMC official was available for comment despite repeated attempts.