Damaged radio stations to get new boost from '68H'

Damaged radio stations to get new boost from '68H'

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Lhokseumawe

Four radio stations destroyed by the quake-triggered tidal waves
in Banda Aceh will be rebuilt by 68H news radio station, and by
the end of this month, at least two of them will be back on air.

The four radio stations are Muhammadiyah and Prima FM radios
in Banda Aceh, Dalka radio in Meulaboh and Megaphone in Sigli.

Santoso, director of 68H radio, said on Thursday that the plan
would require some Rp 1.2 billion, and that would given to them
by U.S.-based Media Development Loan Fund that has entrusted his
station to coordinate the work.

"We'll only work as the technical team responsible to rebuild
the four radio stations," said Santoso when contacted by phone.

He said the work would be started on Thursday and done in
stages.

In the first phase they will rebuild Muhammadiyah and Prima FM
in Banda Aceh, and for that, 15 technicians from 68H were sent
from Jakarta.

"Today (Thursday), the 15 technicians arrived in Banda Aceh.
We assume that the reconstruction of the two stations can be
finished by the end of this month," Santoso said.

According to Santoso, once the reconstruction of the two radio
stations in Banda Aceh was done, the next job would be rebuilding
Dalka radio station in Meulaboh.

The work on Dalka radio station is expected to start in
February, and after it is completed, the next target is Megaphone
radio in Sigli.

"The reconstruction of the radio stations is intended to
restore communication for the Acehnese, after it was destroyed
during the disaster," Santoso said.

Moreover, the reconstruction would also serve as a means of
healing, and could be a way to assist surviving victims, so they
can find their missing relatives, he said.

After the work is done on the first four radio stations, there
is a plan to rebuild other damaged stations in Simelue, Meulaboh
and Banda Aceh. All those costs in the latter project will be
covered by donations from radio stations in the Netherlands and
Germany.