All India Radio (AIR) has established a Local Radio Station (LRS) here but its limited reach and poor quality of programmes is giving an edge to Pakistan in this Muslim majority border district.

Says Minister of State for Works, Qamar Ali Akhoon, who represents Kargil constituency in the Assembly: ``I have been listening to the programmes broadcast by Radio Skardu. They are carrying out very strong propaganda. Most of their programmes are aimed at rousing Muslim sentiments. Our radio station has a reach of less than 10 km and the quality of programmes is rather inferior.''

According to a seniorofficial of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, the LRS was established in Kargil to counter the Pak propaganda. He admitted that the transmission of this 1 kilowatt (KW) medium wave station was weak. ``The medium wave signals do not reach the population living in the hill-locked pockets,'' he said. ``We need to immediately upgrade our transmitter and also install a short wave transmitter.''

A V Mathur, Chief Engineer (Hqs), AIR, in Delhi said on phone: ``We have a plan to upgrade the power of transmission of this local station''. He, however, refused to elaborate.

A senior official in Radio Kashmir told The Indian Express that the main problem was the absence of good local Kargili talent. ``To counter the propoganda, you need to have very good quality programmes that will not only attract the listener but also convince them about what was being broadcast,'' he said. He said the ban imposed on recruitments a few years ago to curtail expenditure was the stumbling block.

Director of Srinagar DoordarshanKendra, Ashraf Sahil, claimed Pak shelling of the transmitter had not disrupted the normal transmission of DD-1 programmes. ``The shells damaged the building while the transmission tower is intact,'' he added.

The ban on PTV announced by the Centre yesterday is hardly evident here. There are no cable networks in Kargil -- as in most rural and hilly areas of the state where a majority of the population lives -- and most of the households in the town and adjoining localities have installed dish antennaes. ``The ban has given an undue boost to PTV. Now people will be more curious to watch it,'' said an official of the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK), Srinagar.

Interestingly, PTV can be seen through an ordinary roof antennae in entire north Kashmir and even in parts of Srinagar district. A senior engineer in DDK, Srinagar, said there was a possibility of jamming the transmission of PTV but it needed highly sophisticated equipment.

In fact, people in most parts of the state, especially border areas, have no otheroption but to switch on PTV as they do not receive programmes telecast by DD at all. In other areas, the quality of DD programmes relayed is too weak to be seen.

Sources in the administration and police say the PTV programmes were more popular among the rural people as these were not only presented in their own language but were also close to their cultural, ethnic and geographical identities. The state's pleas to the Centre in this regard have not helped.

At present, DD has one High Power Transmitter (HPT) of 10 KW each in Jammu and Srinagar cities, besides LPTs in Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua, Bandipora, Drass, Baramulla. Kupwara, Tangdar and Gurez. The VLPTs (Very Low Power Transmitters) have been set up at Samba, Bimber Gali (Poonch), Kistwar, Doda. Bhaderwah, Ramban and Pahalgam.

Apart from DD programmes, both the HPTs also relay local programmes for some hours during the evening in Jammu and Srinagar only, in the absence of any uplinking facility.

``We have repeatedly asked the Centre for an earthingstation to get the programmes relayed in other parts of the state. At present, they are directly connected with Delhi and relay only DD-1 programmes,'' a DD official said, adding that less than Rs 1 crore was required for the purpose.

``We have been asking the Centre to strengthen the relaying capacity of the transmission towers for many years, but the matter is hanging fire,'' a senior police official said.

In many areas, these transmission towers were non-functional either for want of staff or some technical reasons. In this connection, sources said a majority of the people in the entire Doda district had no option but to switch on PTV as the VLPT at Doda, Kistwar and Bhaderwah were non-functional. Similarly, the DD programmes were off the air in most areas of Rajouri and Poonch districts like Manjakot, Balakote, Keri, Kandi and Budhal.

Recently, the DD authorities pressed into service mobile relay vans in Darhal and Nowshera areas to tackle the situation to some extent.

Pakistan has installedhigh-powered transmitters in areas near its border with Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, the PTV programmes are being telecast through satellite and their reception here is more clear than the DD programmes.