Children dancing to the songs on radio, a man ploughing his field on a sunny afternoon with the radio blaring in the background and when the sun goes down, parents and elderly people sitting huddled around the fire, waiting for the supper, as they narrate the day’s event with each other while the radio plays at backdrop, it’s volume a few notches down. These are typical scenes in any of the rural pockets of the country.
People in Tarithang, a remote village under Sarpang Dzongkhag, are no different. They consider radio an important asset that helps them keep abreast with what’s happening around the country. They consider it an important link that keeps them connected with other people.
Apart from news and information, people of Tarithang often find radio as their companion. They take it with them when they go to their fields. “We can listen to it and at the same time work,” said 70 year old farmer, Sangay. He says the agriculture programme aired on BBS radio is of great help.
The villagers say they have been receptive to the development. “We have TV,” they say pointing at their Television set with blurry images. Reception is poor in Tarithang. It worsens during windy or rainy day. People even tried tying the TV’s antenna to the trees in a hope to get a better reception. “BBS channel two has affected the reception of channel one,” said a villager, Rinchen Zangpo.
The Chief Engineer of BBS, Rajesh Kafley, said people of the gewog are watching BBS on terrestrial TV at the moment, where only channel two is available. He said BBS is purchasing new transmitters, which will enable people all over the country to watch channel one as well. “The plan is to finish installing it by December this year.”
According to a statistics maintained by the gewog BHU last year, there are 31 households owning a radio set and six households owning a television set in Tarithang Gewog.
