Bhaderwah radio station being upgraded following Dr Jitendra’s intervention

Following the intervention of Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also Member of Parliament from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency, Bhaderwah radio station will soon be upgraded with a longer reach and clearer audibility.

This was disclosed here today by Director General Prasar Bharti, Fayyaz Sheheryar, who called on Dr Jitendra Singh to give him a brief about All India Radio’s expansion plans in the State of Jammu & Kashmir. He said, a few days back, Dr. Jitendra Singh had proposed upgradation of Bhaderwah radio station and it has been promptly followed up. Sheheryar said, under the special scheme of expansion of All India Radio network in India, Udhampur will soon have a radio station of its own. The district administration of Udhampur has already identified land for the purpose and the land acquisition process will begin soon, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh complimented Fayyaz Sheheryar for taking personal interest and responding positively to each of the proposals sent to him. He said, there had been a long pending demand about signal not being adequate from Bhaderwah Radio Station but, with the latest upgradation, the signal will not only be clear and loud but it will also be uniform without any break. A representation to this effect had also been made to him by MLA Bhaderwah Dalip Singh Parhar, he recalled. Similarly, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, Udhampur, though being an Army headquarter, was receptive to signals from Radio Pakistan but the All India Radio signals were not optimally available. With the setting up of new radio station, this anomaly will also be overcome, he added. Referring to 11 FM radio channels allotted for Kathua, Bhaderwah and Poonch regions, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the process is taking some time because it has to be accomplished through bidding in the second phase.

Notwithstanding the mushrooming of television channels, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, radio still carried a huge relevance for far-flung areas in Jammu & Kashmir including Udhampur, Kathua and Doda where, in certain places, television viewership was not possible, either due to lack of provision or due to lack of electric power supply.