The state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) came in for sharp criticism by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), for disconnecting inter-connectivity services in Maharashtra and Goa circle.

Coal in a statement said that despite the directive of the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) BSNL went ahead with disconnections.

“BSNL has defied the ruling of the appellate tribunal and disconnected points of interconnection of private operators in the Maharashtra & Goa circle, claiming non-payment of intra-circle carriage charges,’’ COAI stated. Five days ago, BSNL suspended all incoming calls of some private telecom companies, claiming that they had failed to clear dues, owing to which consumers cannot call from most cellphone networks to BSNL landlines.

Terming BSNL’s action as “illegal”, the director general of COAI, Rajan S Mathews said, “We expect BSNL to act responsibly in the interest of consumers and take serious consideration of the extreme hardships the customers are undergoing due to misguided technicality.’’