LARKANA: Financial constraints have badly affected Radio Pakistan’s Medium Wave (MW) transmitter’s performance in Larkana shrinking its coverage to about 20 per cent.

It was learnt that the coverage of the 100-kiloWatt High Power Transmitter (HPT), installed in 2017 in the Chuharpur area, gradually shrunk over the last few years owing to frequent faults. Delays in the repair work, apparently caused by financial constraints, have now restricted the transmission coverage from 300-400 kilometres radius until a few years ago to just 100 kilometres radius now.

Saeed Ahmed Shaikh, the Director General of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), speaking to Dawn on Thursday, said not only Larkana’s, but HPT of Hyderabad had also become ‘underpowered’, the terminology used to define weak signal strength and reduced coverage.

Sources in the PBC said that originally three HPTs were imported from Canada and installed at Multan, Hyderabad and Larkana. The output of Hyderabad has now shrunk to 50 to 60 per cent.

Sources said that due to defects in the Larkana HPT, its signals had fallen weak causing feeble and broken sound being received by listeners.

Administrative lacuna

Administratively, 100 kiloWatt HPTs are under the control of PBC Headquarters but looking after the one in Larkana has been entrusted to the division’s Broadcasting House which is an administrative lacuna. As a routine practice, faulty instruments are sent to the PBC Headquarters for repair, which ultimately causes ‘weak signal strength’ until the repair work is completed.

Normally, the MW transmission’s on-air time is 8am to 12noon and 3pm to 10pm.

For the last three years, the ‘monitor’ of the Larkana HPT has turned black, hence not readable. The staff concerned cannot see the status of on-air transmission, according to the sources.

The poor health of the two-kiloWatt FM (Frequency Modulation) transmitter is also a matter of concern for the Broadcasting House and listeners of Larkana. Complainants from people about weak signals, absence of transmission service in parts of the targeted area, distortion or broken sound are piling up.

The Larkana FM Station was inaugurated in 1995 by the then prime minister Benazir Bhutto. It was a two-kiloWatt transmitter with a capacity to cover a radius of 50-80 kilometres. Since the station’s inauguration, the authorities concerned have to bring in three functional transmitters to replace the faulty ones. And now, the one in operation has to be replaced as it has also become ‘underpowered’.

HPTs’ replacement promised

About a fortnight back, PBC Director General Saeed Ahmed Shaikh had visited the Larkana Radio Station to apprise himself of its status. He promised to replace the HPT during the visit.

On Thursday, he told this reporter that the FM transmitter of Kahirpur that had broken down was immediately replaced with the one shifted from Karachi. “Its performance now is 100 per cent,” he said, adding: “The underpowered HPTs of Larkana and Hyderabad will also be replaced within the month of Ramazan”.

He further stated that two new HPTs would be procured soon, one for Quetta and the other for Khuzdar.

Unpaid salaries

It is learnt that the delay in the repair and replacement of transmitters is being caused by financial constraints. The Larkana Broadcasting House has been in official communication with the PBC Headquarters in this regard. It is also learnt that the contractual staff of the Larkana Radio Station had not been getting their remunerations on a regular basis for four months. Recently, however, their two-month arrears were cleared and now they are waiting for the remaining two months’ remuneration.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024