Prasad set on wiring up to Bihar voters with AIR, DD

Prasad has generally been kind to his state whenever he has visited it. His last visit on January 8 yielded a low power transmitter in Gaya for a news channel. Much before that, in November last, a very low power transmitter (VLPT) had come up at Barhi. It is only in the last few days that the transmitters have taken a frenzied pace.

The foundation stones aside, work on transmitters take long. An HPT can rarely come up before two years. ‘‘Assuming the ground is fine and labour is available, an HPT transmitter will take at least two years before it becomes operational,’’ engineers say.

The budget for a high power transmitter runs into Rs 10 crore and much of the transmission will actually depend on the power of the transmitter and the height of the tower. In the case of a low power transmitter (LPT), setting up would cost less than a crore and it could come up in less time than the HPT.

The advantage of an HPT over an LPT is the area the former can cover. More than 50 sq km in the case of an HPT, less than 50 km for LPT. A VLPT on the other hand covers a radius of 5 km-8 km and is normally preferred in hilly regions.

Officials of course, add that all the HPTs and LPTs have the 10th Plan’s approval. Does that explain the minister’s hurry?