State-owned telecom operator BSNL has restored services to emergency numbers in Punjab circle, allowing mobile subscribers of private telecom operators to call up numbers like 100, 101, 102 and 108.

"We have restored the services to emergency numbers in the wake of problems being faced by the mobile subscribers of private cellular operators including Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in calling up these numbers in exigencies," a senior official of BSNL, Punjab circle, said here today.

This decision has been taken in public interest, he asserted.

BSNL on September 29 had disconnected its services to five mobile operators including Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communication and Idea on account of pending dues amounting to Rs 13 crore.

However, on October 3, BSNL Punjab circle had restored services to Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices Limited as telecom tribunal TDSAT stayed BSNL from disconnecting services of private operators.

A lot of people have been complaining of not being able to call up the emergency numbers especially of police control room because of disconnection of services by BSNL.

On October 11, a person lost his life in an accident at Lalru because of not receiving timely help. A passerby tried to call up police from his cell phone to inform about accident but he could not get through because of disconnection of services.

The Chandigarh police have also observed massive cut in receiving complaints over its ?100? police control room number and it even asked BSNL authorities to restore the same.

In Punjab, BSNL has about 11.91 lakh fixed landline subscribers while mobile operators Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have subscribers? base of 67.09 lakh, 42.30 lakh, and 47.34 lakh respectively as on July 31, 2011.