October 18, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 24, 1427

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VEHARI, Oct 17: PTV viewers in the Vehari district and adjoining areas have expressed their displeasure over getting weak signals barring them from watching any national and international events.

A group of viewers while talking to Dawn said that most of the people in this area watched the PTV channel.

These days the ICC cricket champions trophy is continuing in Jaipur (India), but the PTV signals in this area are not clear despite the fact that a strong PTV booster has been installed at Meranpur Town in Mailsi tehsil on Mailsi-Kehrorpaka Road, some 52kms from here.

They claimed that signals remained quite clear only for few days after the installation of the booster, but later the situation became worse.

Booster in-charge Jawed Iqbal Makhdoom said the PTV booster had been installed in 1999 at a cost of Rs30 million. Comprising only one transmitter, he said in 2003 the 500-feet high booster had collapsed due to a heavy windstorm that weakened the signals.

After the incident, he said he had informed the PTV high-ups and the ministry of information repeatedly in writing, but no step had been taken to install a new booster.

About a year back, he said a small booster with a height of only 80 feet and having a range of five kilometer, covering only Mailsi area, was installed on a temporary basis.

He said around Rs30 million would be required for the installation of a new booster which would cover an area of about 50kms, facilitating viewers of Vehari, Lodhran, Bahawalpur and Khanewal districts.