Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Saturday launched high-power transmitters of Doordarshan and All India Radio at Hamboting La near Kargil in Ladakh.
Located at the height of 4,054 metres above the mean sea level, these are the highest altitude TV and radio transmitters in the country.
The range of the 10 kilowatt transmitters is over 50 km in radius.
The existing transmitters at Leh are at the altitude of 3,501 metres (about 11,450 feet).
Speaking on the occasion, the minister noted that the Hamboting La site is one of the most difficult locations considering the hostile weather conditions and geographical terrain.
Complimenting the team of engineers and workers for completing the project in such hostile weather conditions, the minister said that the Ladakhi contribution to DD Kashmir will be doubled from 30 minutes to one hour daily from October 1.
Observing that these transmitters would cover a population of about 50,000 in the remote border area of Kargil, Thakur said that the number may look small compared to other parts of the country, but it demonstrates the commitment of the government to reach each and every citizen in the border areas.
He said that the border coverage by strong signals of radio and television is an important aspect of broadcasting policies of the government.
The minister said that it is not only required for providing correct information to the people in the sensitive border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh but also to counter the propaganda from hostile neighbours.
"The strengthening of terrestrial coverage in border areas also allows the viewers/listeners to be adequately informed about the country's policies, news and current affairs and simultaneously be entertained by variety of programmes,” he said.
"This will also make educational content available for the students in this region through DD and AIR. Through its TV, radio and digital platforms, Prasar Bharati has been offering various educational contents for school and college students in collaboration with various state education departments and institutions,” Thakur said.
In order to make TV and radio channels accessible to common people, Prasar Bharati is making available over 160 TV channels across different genres, including news, entertainment, education, and 48 radio channels free of cost to DD Free Dish households, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said.
The unique free-to-air model has made DD Free Dish the largest DTH platform with reach to more than four crore households, it said.
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