Story By Cpl. Mark Doran
TARIN KOT, Afghanistan - Tarin Kot’s radio and television station has been rebuilt by Australian hired local contractors after being destroyed by the enemies of Afghanistan in 2011.
As the final project of the Provincial Reconstruction Team – Uruzgan, Managed Works Team, planning began in October 2012 and construction was completed in May 2013.
Suicide bombers and their accomplices bombed several government buildings on July 28, 2011, as well as the broadcasting station.
Twenty-one civilians were killed and 38 more injured in the attack.
Afghan and US forces responded, engaged and killed all insurgents during the five-hour battle.
Qudratulla Samin has been a journalist at the broadcasting station for six years and said during the attack he was lucky to have gone home for lunch.
“It was during the shooting that my friend and BBC journalist, Ahmad Omaid Khpalwak, was killed,” he said.
“We have been given the opportunity to operate the radio station and we do it to help the government and the people of Uruzgan so they can understand what is going on in the province.
There is a lot of information to communicate to the outlying communities about what is happening within the government and the region,” Samin said.
Nearly 95 percent of Afghans have a radio receiver and with a newly installed transmitter of 300 Watts the station reaches the majority of the Uruzgan population.
Samin said at the moment they are broadcasting the news, editing and doing all their office work from one small room behind the main building.
“We are not working here for our salary. We are here because there is important news to share which makes people happy, such as what can be provided for those in need,” he said.
“I am looking forward to working in the new broadcast facilities, they are perfect and it will be a lot easier for us to do our job.”
The Managed Works Team’s role in delivering this facility included the planning, design and project management.
The station staff will move into the new building during June 2013.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2013 12:28 |
| Story ID: | 108033 |
| Location: | TARIN KOWT, AF |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Afghan journalist looks forward to new broadcast facilities, by OR-5 Mark Doran, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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