Ludhiana FM Gold begins relay broadcast

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari inaugurated the channel on the BSNL premises in Transport Nagar.

With this launch,Ludhiana has become the fifth city in the country after four metros of Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai and Kolkata to have its own FM Gold Radio channel.

Ludhiana Newsline was the first to report that Ludhiana Gold FM would begin its services on August 16.

Addressing a function at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan,Tewari said that by November this year,local programmes of two-hour duration,one hour each in the morning and evening,would be produced and aired from the FM Gold Ludhiana.

He said that being the largest and the most important industrial hub of Punjab,there was a long-pending demand for a local radio station in Ludhiana.

Tewari said that the current range of 20 km radius of this channel would be enhanced and studio-based programmes would be produced and broadcast from here. He congratulated the Prasar Bharti officials and engineers on having made FM Gold Ludhiana a reality within a short span of four months.

Jawahar Sirckar,CEO,Prasar Bharti,and L D Mandloi,Director General of All India Radio,were also present.

PROMISES,CRITICISM

Tewari said that he had taken up the matter with the ministry concerned for converting the existing Passport Sewa Kendra into a full-fledged Regional Passport Office,so that applicants need not go to Chandigarh or Jalandhar.

He also promised to start a new Shatabdi train from Ludhiana to New Delhi via Ambala,and said the matter had already been taken up with the Union Railways Minister.

He said that the Union government had given about Rs 100 crore for laying various link roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna,work on many of which had either been completed or was nearing completion.

He said that he had also got air services between Ludhiana and Delhi resumed in 2010,but due to non-provision of other required infrastructure which had to be provided by the Punjab government,the air services could not be strengthened.

“Planning Commission had given Rs 50 crore to the state government for the cleansing project for the Budha Nullah and another Rs 16 crore were released to the state government by the Union Environment Ministry,but the state government not only failed to contribute its own matching share of Rs 50 crore,but even spent the Central funds elsewhere,” he added.

Majithia criticises FM radio launch

ISSRU (KHANNA): Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday criticised Tewari for giving importance to a radio channel instead of doing something for Ludhiana industries reeling under crisis. “Instead of getting a radio channel launched,Tewari should have focussed on getting some packages for Ludhiana industries being a local MP,” said Majithia at Issru village in Khanna.