Officials here regard the ban as impracticable. Firstly, certain PTV programmes enjoy tremendous popularity here. Besides, the quality of PTV reception has always been better than what is relayed via the 10 KW Doordarshan (DD) transmitter at Samatra village, 25 km from here. The DD transmitter has a limited reach.

Further, the Union government ban only prohibits cable operators from showing PTV. Meanwhile, a State government order received here states that stern action be initiated against those who indulge in anti-India propaganda, however, making no direct reference to PTV. ``Even if PTV was specifically mentioned, it wouldn't mean a thing unless we could control the airwaves,'' an official remarked.

Says Hasmukh Patel, vice-president of Lakhapat taluka panchayat,located on the border, ``Ninety per cent people in my area regularly watch PTV. The reception is excellent and you don't need a booster.'' The taluka has 90 revenue villages and 10 hamlets. Inquiries revealed that PTV reception is good in almost all parts of the district.

Even in Bhuj, the district headquarters, which is far away from the border, one could watch the programmes of the Karachi station of PTV on Thursday. The station telecasts regional programmes in Sindhi and relays the national PTV programme in Urdu.

The PTV Khabarnama (news bulletin) last night devoted the first 15 minutes to Kargil and the next 15 minutes to the cyclone-hit Thatha area of Sindh province of Pakistan, adjoining Kutch. The PTV reception was perfect while that from the DD relay centre was substandard.

DD officials say that the quality of their reception will improve after the proposed 1,000-feet transmission tower is ready in July. However an officer, requesting anonymity, said that the tower may only help expand the reachby about 10 per cent, not the quality. At present, DD programmes can be viewed only in a 40 kilometre radius of the existing tower.

PTV viewership here is not limited to homes. It is also openly watched on government-owned TV sets which were installed in border villages to counter PTV. The Rural Broadcasting Department, now part of the Directorate of Information, had installed 760-odd TV sets in the borders villages in the late 1980s and early 90s.

Many of these television sets were provided with dish antennas so that they could receive DD programmes directly from the satellite. Over the years, the antennas got damaged because of humid climate and high salinity but were neither repaired nor replaced. So, the people continued to watch PTV.

The popularity of PTV can be gauged from the fact that in border villages children can often be seen reciting commercial jingles telecast on PTV. The people here are also more familiar with the names of Pakistani politicians and TV artistes than their Indiancounterparts.