Car Nicobar yet to connect

NEW DELHI: More than a third of the telephone exchanges on Car Nicobar island remain inoperable after a devastating tsunami hit the region, telecoms firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. said.

State-run BSNL said it had restored communication facilities in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, states hit by Sunday's earthquake-generated wave across the Indian Ocean that has killed more than 12,400 people in India alone.

No estimates of the cost of the telecom damage had been worked out yet, said Anil Jain, deputy director general for marketing at New Delhi-based BSNL.

"There is no major damage to infrastructure in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, but 18 out of 52 exchanges in Car Nicobar are down," Jain said.

Even the roads approaching the Car Nicobar exchanges were clogged with water, but BSNL was making all efforts to get them running as soon as possible, he added.

The tsunami has killed more than 68,000 people in countries bordering the Indian Ocean, and damaged critical infrastructure. Officials fear that at least 6,000 have been killed on Car Nicobar.