With India’s third digital FM radio station installed near Barmer, residents of the villages near the border areas of western Rajasthan will no longer have to listen to anti-India propaganda aired by the Pakistani radio stations.
The place earlier had a medium wave transmitter and its signals failed to reach the places bordering Pakistan due to its low network capacity. Hence villagers were forced to listen to the programs broadcasted by the station in Pakistan.
With the installation of this 20 Kilowatt transmitter installed on a 300-meter high hill, the villagers got a sigh of relief as it will be able to air programs to places as far as Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur and several areas across the border. This transmitter is installed at a distance of 55 Kms from Barmer.
All India Radio deputy director (Barmer) GS Batham said that this transmitter is capable of transmitting signals as far as 150 Km. The installation of this transmitter has made Indian radio programs accessible in border areas and some zones in Pakistan. Earlier no domestic radio network was available in these villages.
However, testing of the transmitter has been carried out, but it is yet to function. The ministry of information and broadcasting has sanctioned six posts for this FM station, but unfortunately, till date, not a single post has been filled. Ones the posts are filled this FM Radio station will communicate programs on agriculture, women, youth, child, culture, and tradition.
The government has planned that this FM station will be handed over to the Akashwani Kendra at Barmer for its operation. But currently, the handover is stuck as Akashwani Kendra is reeling under staff crunch.
The people of these villages have requested the government to take note of the problem as soon as possible and make the FM station functional at the earliest so that the people are no more forced to listen to anti-India propaganda on Pakistani radio networks.
