ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: Dish antennas’ galore of the early 1990s is back in the city and adjoining areas with a vengeance after the private news channels went blind following the imposition of emergency in the country.

Cable operators stopped transmitting the channels even before the government proclaimed the emergency on Saturday. In fact it was the sudden disappearance of the channels from the television screens that alerted the people to the impending extra-constitutional step.

Government spokesmen have been assuring that the channels would reappear once the managers of the print and electronic media in private hands agreed to adhere to a code of conduct that would end the laissez-faire freedom they had been enjoying so far.

The sudden and unexpected blackout of the news channels shocked the people who had got addicted to round-the-clock news, particularly during the political turmoil the country had been going through most part of the year. By Sunday afternoon a large number were out seeking dish antennas to fill their appetite for news.

“It is very suffocating without the news channels,” explained buyer Ali while bargaining with a dish antenna dealer.

State-run Pakistan Television is the only news channel available to the public but suffers from reliability crisis despite its brave efforts and innovative presentations.

Prior to the imposition of emergency, viewers had 15 to 20 local and international news channels like BBC, CNN, Fox, Al-Jazeera, DawnNews, CNBC, Geo, ARY-1, Aaj to choose from.

Three main local attractions DawnNews, Geo and ARY-1, can still be viewed, free of subscription cost, on Pamsat 10 with an eight feet dish and a small receiver.

Price of a complete dish antenna kit meanwhile has jumped from Rs8000 to Rs11,000. According to one of the dealers it was even being sold for Rs25,000 in certain areas.