KOHAT, June 13: Kohat radio station was officially inaugurated on Sunday by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli. The minister said at the opening ceremony that the government wanted to provide a platform to the local people in the shape of regional radio stations so that they could “express their views and pinpoint their problems”. In this way, she said, the government would also get some feedback about the impact of its policies and make changes according to the people’s needs.

The radio station, the country’s 27th, will broadcast programmes in Urdu as well as Hindko and Pushto, the two premier regional languages of the area.

The first transmission of the radio station went on air at exactly 4.34pm with the state minister reading out her congratulatory message to the people. The radio station’s programmes will be broadcast for 12 hours daily and will cover the area up to Karak and Hangu districts.

Broadcast at a frequency of FM94 MHz, the programmes will be heard within a 65-square kilometre radius between 8am and 2pm and 4pm and 10pm. Apart from national and regional news bulletins, the radio station will air special programmes for children, women and senior citizens.

The state minister promised that the area would get a TV booster, as had been announced by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed during his last visit to Kohat.

The ceremony was attended by director general of Radio Pakistan Tariq Imam, district nazim Malik Asad, senior officials, journalists and writers.

Radio Pakistan’s director of planning and development, Mukarab Khan Niazi, said that initially a 2-kilowatt transmitter had been sanctioned for Kohat but later a 3-kilowatt transmitter had been imported from China so that the station could cover the adjoining hilly areas as well.

Mr Niazi said that six new radio stations were being established on an early basis on the directives of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Out of these six, Sargodha and Kohat had started functioning whereas Bannu and Mianwali radio stations would be inaugurated on June 19 and June 26 respectively, followed by Mithi and Gwadar, he said.

According to Mr Niazi, radio stations will be established in 47 districts of the country. The radio headquarters will provide news and current affairs programmes while local stations will air cultural, social and entertainment programmes.

He also disclosed plans to establish 100-kilowatt power radio stations in Parachinar in the Kurram Agency, Chaman and Gwadar in Balochistan. For wider coverage, all the regional radio stations would be linked via satellite.