Takes up the issue with the CEO Prasar Bharti

Diglipur, Dec. 18: Having been deprived of the Doordarshan Port Blair’s Programmes for a long time, the People now have been compelled to raise their voices. The Pradhan of the Sitanagar Gram Panchayat, Shri Biplab Mondal has written a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of the Prasar Bharti, demanding to restore the services, repairing or replacing the existing very low Power Transmitters.

In his letter, copies of which have been served to the PMO, he informed that these transmitters were installed long back, and due to negligence and lack of maintenance, these rusted transmitters have become non-functional. As a result, the Programmes telecast by the Port Blair Centre do not reach the far-flung villages and the majority of the People are unable to watch it.

Mass Media and National broadcasters like All India Radio and Doordarshan play pivotal roles in disseminating Information related to the Government’s welfare schemes among the common People. In the absence of these media, people do not get to know about these schemes and thus are deprived of making use of them.

Elaborating on the strategic importance of this region, Shri Biplab said that it is nearer to the controversial Coco Island, which is allegedly under the occupation of China where it has established a Naval Base also, which is causing a threat to our Country. To keep strict vigilance on the illegal poaching activities of foreigners, the   Government has set up a Coast Guard Base at Arial Bay and an Air Base at Shib Pur. In these conditions, the presence of the National media is a necessity.

Adding another important reason in his letter, Pradhan Shri Biplab said that the region comes under the Seismic Zone V, and the Earthquakes are often felt here. The villagers don't get updates on the Disaster alarms from the Disaster Management Department on time.

In his letter, he said it’s surprising that there is nobody posted here to look after the assets of the Doordarshan at Diglipur. The area is located at the prime location near the Government Guest House at Diglipur and prone to be encroached. He requested the CEO to intervene and restore the transmission, replacing rusted transmitters and deputing 24x7 staff to take care of the Property and ensure its functioning.