The Hindu : DD's reach to go up in border areas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 09, 2003

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Other States - Rajasthan

DD's reach to go up in border areas

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR JUNE 8. The Union Minister of State for Information, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has said that the reach of the Doordarshan would be widened in the border districts of Rajasthan to counter the propaganda of the Pakistan television. The low power transmitters (LPTs) in the districts of Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer would be converted into high power transmitters (HPTs) in order to achieve this, he said.

Mr.Prasad was speaking after inaugurating the DD 2 relay station, the eighth of its kind in Rajasthan, at Alwar on Saturday evening. The programme, scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. was delayed by four hours as it was tied-up with the "Parivartan yatra'' led by the Rajasthan BJP president, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, in the region.

Mr.Prasad said the Doordarshan would gear up to face the challenges of increasing competition from private channels. The Prasar Bharati should make quality programmes to keep up its competitiveness, he said. It was to make Prasar Bharati more efficient and more effective that a provision of Rs.500 crores had been made for it in the 10th Five Year Plan, he pointed out.

On the contentious CAS (conditional access system), Mr.Prasad said the cable operations would have to display their rates once the system came into force.

He warned of serious action against the operators who did not adhere to the prescribed rates for charging the customer.

Ms.Scindia said the launch of the relay station would facilitate the residents of Alwar to watch the DD Metro programmes. This was the fulfillment of the long pending demand of the people, she said.

Ms.Scindia also suggested strengthening of the capacity of the transmitters in the border areas of Rajasthan. The local MP, Jaswant Yadav, also spoke.

The relay transmitter at Alwar would facilitate 5 lakh persons to view Metro channel in an area of 20 kms in Alwar town and its surroundings. With this the total number of LPTs in Rajasthan has gone up to 101.

A sum of Rs.76 lakhs was spent on the setting up of the transmitter.

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