RAMBAN, SEPTEMBER, 02: Union Minister of State in PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh today inaugurated 10 KW FM Transmitter of All India Radio (AIR) here at Patnitop.
MLA, Ramban, Neelam Kumar Langeh, Director General, All India Radio, Fayaz Sheheryar, DIG, DKR, Rafiq-Ul-Hussan, Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Showkat Aijaz Bhat, SSP Ramban, Anita Sharma, Dy. Director ,RNU, DD Jammu, Neha Jalali, besides a large number of people were present on the occasion.
Dr Singh said that with the commissioning of the relay FM transmitter at Patnitop the people living on high reaches and remote areas like Ramban, Doda, Udhampur, Anantnag and parts of Jammu would be able to listen to the radio for information and entertainment more clearly. He further said that the commissioning of the relay transmitter had fulfilled the long pending demand of the local people who were earlier left with no option but to listen to the programmes broadcast from across the border.
While appreciating All India Radio for coming up to the expectations of the people in the era of tough challenges and competitions from private TV channels, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that AIR can play a key role in countering the malicious and fake propaganda being unleashed from across the border and by some anti -national elements and mischief mongers .
While addressing the audience, Dr Singh said that in the era of social media where misinformation spreads quickly, the credibility and trustworthiness of AIR serves as an alternative yet accurate source of information for the audience. The medium is prompt, credible and instantaneous and has continued to remain so despite the fast changing media landscape.
Dr Singh, while referring to radio as a medium for information as well as entertainment said that the medium is still relevant and its reach is greater than the other types of media. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it engages us even while not disengaging us from the work we are doing. The medium, its use and applications have changed over time, but it continues to remain relevant. Citing an example, Dr Singh said that the use of the radio for education (Tele-education) have opened new niche for the applicability of the medium in the modern digital age.
While highlighting the important role played by the public broadcaster towards the socio-economic development of the country, Dr Singh said that the FM Transmitter would provide people’s access to information related to developmental initiatives of the government and will open a new chapter in the developmental journey of the region. The Union Minister said that now the people living in remote and mountainous areas of the J&K State would now be able to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat and will also be able to know about various developmental programmes and welfare schemes launched by the Government.
MLA Ramban, while expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the district for the installation of the FM transmitter at Patnitop, said that it was a historic development for the physical as well as emotional connectivity of the remote areas of the district.
Earlier in his address, Director General All India Radio, Fayyaz Sheheryar said that the installation of the 10 KW FM transmitter at Patnitop was a landmark achievement for reaching out to the people in remote areas of the state by the public broadcaster. He expressed gratitude towards the Minister who, he said, made efforts for getting special funding for the project that was not a part of the 12th Five Year Plan. DG AIR expressed the hope that the Station at Udhampur would also be commissioned before the end of current year and ensured that steps would be taken for augmenting the reach of the public broadcaster in difficult areas of the state.
The 10KW transmitter will help cover an aerial distance of 60 km in nearby districts of Doda, Ramban,Kishtwar, Udhampur and parts of Jammu and even across the border. It will be available in the frequency of 101 MHz. He said that to begin with the programmes AIR, Jammu and Vividh Bharti would be transmitted for 18 hours a day and in future its signal would be digitalized. Fayaz informed that very soon high power transmission of DD would also be commissioned.
