Chandigarh, October 6, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) President and Rajya Sabha Member, S. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Wednesday termed the shutdown of three Doordarshan broadcasting towers in Punjab as unfortunate and demanded roll back of the official orders in this regard.
These towers have been facilitating the people of the state for a long time through its cultural and family-oriented programs and their shutdown is very disappointing, he said in a statement issued here.
S. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that as per the information received, three major Doordarshan towers of Punjab would be closed in phased manner by March 31 next year.
“The broadcasting tower of DD Punjabi in Bathinda has been ordered to shutdown from October 31, in Amritsar on December, 31 and Fazilka on March, 31 next year.
The closure of these Punjabi channels has come as a huge shock to the viewers of various TV programs aired on these channels,” he said.
S. Dhindsa said that the projected shutdown of these Doordarshan transmitters was a decision that speaks of lack of farsightedness and should be overruled at any cost.
“I will soon be writing a letter to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Mr. Anurag Thakur in this regard seeking directions to stop the shutdown of these towers,” he said.
Recalling the past days, S. Dhindsa said that when a 135 meter high TV tower was set up in Bathinda in 1985, the antennas on the roofs of the people were taken down and people were allowed to watch clean, cultural TV programmes.
But now, the Union government has issued orders to demolish the towers at Bathinda, Amritsar and Fazilka, S. Dhindsa said, as he rubbished the reasoning of the government behind the shutdown of these towers.
“The government argues that the clutter of channels has increased and people are no longer interested in watching the aforesaid TV programs of Doordarshan. This is false. People of the state still want to watch DD Punjabi as these channels capture the essence of Punjabi culture and produce programs which can be watched while sitting with the entire family,” he said.
S. Dhindsa strongly demanded that the Central Government keeps the old Doordarshan channels running.
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