KUWAIT CITY, Dec 15:  Residents in Mishref are experiencing another crisis after grappling with the sewage water plant disaster few weeks ago due to the disconnection of telephone lines in a number of blocks.  Some residents have had no telephone service for 10 days. 
Although the Communica-tions Office in Mishref promised to restore the service by Dec 9, many people are still complaining that nothing has been done so far and are demanding the restoration of their telephone service immediately.
Speaking to the Arab Times, Fatima, an employee at the Ministry of Communications, blamed the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) for the disconnection of telephone lines in Mishref.
“We have been receiving complaints from several Mishref residents since last month on the disconnection of their landlines due to the underground digging currently carried out by MPW across the area, resulting in the detachment of many cables from the telephone network.  We do not want to give the residents false promises as it will take some time before the Mishref Communications Office, in coordination with MPW, repairs the underground cables and restores the lines.  MPW said it will take around two weeks from now,” she explained.
Residents were outraged as they feel this is a life or death situation as they cannot call police, fire stations or medical departments in case of emergency.  The Communications Office in Mishref has failed to notify the residents that it will take a long time to restore their telephone lines.

Some have demanded their right to use this service, which they have paid for, and threatened to file a complaint against the government institution in charge of this prolonged outage.
Another employee at the Mishref Communications Office pointed out MPW should take full responsibility for this problem due to its digging operations in the area.  “This office should not be blamed for this problem but we are still taking the necessary measures to force MPW to cooperate with us in fixing the underground cables,” he asserted.
The employee added the Ministry of Communications strictly complies with all the provisions in the agreements it has signed with the residents. 
“The ministry has not violated any clause in these contracts. We acknowledge the right of Mishref residents to avail of the service they have paid for.  We are doing our best to address the problem as soon as possible but we cannot specify a date for the restoration of the service, although we received information that the cables will be fixed by Dec 20,” he explained. 
For complaints or assistance, residents can contact the Mishref Communications Office at 25380000 or 25385111. - Arab Times