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Solar
power brings World Service to Bamian in FM
Two
years after the Taliban destroyed two huge Buddha statues in Bamian
in central Afghanistan amid international furore, BBC World Service
has erected a solar powered FM transmitter to bring BBC World Service
to the predominantly Hazara population of the region.
Apart from a
few private generators, Bamian has no electrical power which is
why BBC World Service chose solar energy to power the new 89.0 MHz
frequency.
This
is the fourth FM frequency BBC World Service has launched in Afghanistan
since the Taliban regime fell in November 2001.
FM
frequencies already transmit BBC World Service in high quality sound
to millions of Afghans in the capital, Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and
Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan.
"Throughout more than two decades of conflict, Bamian became
one of the most neglected regions of Afghanistan. Almost the entire
population fled under the Taliban. There was little investment in
the area. It has never had a power station or any radio facilities,"
said Behrouz Afagh, head of Eurasia region at BBC World Service.
"Now the
population are returning to Bamian. For the first time people in
the region can listen to the World Service on FM," he said.
The
new solar powered FM transmitter will broadcast 24 hours a day with
programmes predominantly in Pashto and Persian.
BBC
World Service has an unparalleled reach in Afghanistan. A recent
survey in Kabul found that 82 per cent of Afghans in the capital
listen to BBC World Service broadcasts every week.
The
survey – the first since the Taliban left power – found
BBC World Service is the leading broadcaster in Kabul with 88 per
cent of Afghans perceiving BBC World Service as a trusted source
of information.
BBC
World Service plans to expand its FM presence in Afghanistan with
further FM frequencies in other provincial cities over the coming
year.
Notes
to Editors
1.
BBC World Service has broadcast to Afghanistan for the past 60 years.
2.
In addition to daily news programmes, BBC World Service broadcasts
the popular soap drama, New Home, New Life, to the region, as well
as programmes for Afghan children.
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