LUDHIANA, Punjab—Refuting the allegations of black outing Zee (Punjab Haryana Himachal) from its broadcasting list, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Fastway Network’ Sri Piyush Mahajan has clarified that the channel has not been blacked out by his company. In a statement on May 9, Mahajan has said that his company fully works in adherence of the rules and regulations specified by the state and union laws.
He said that the Zee Channel has increased the fee of its channels to Rs. 173/-, due to which they have put the channel into the list of paid channels. He informed us that the channels could be enjoyed with the Platinum or HD package offered by Fastway channels. He informed us that the agreement between Zee Group and Fastway had expired on March 31, 2016 due to which the channel is no longer available with the simple package.
Broadcast of the Zee TV (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal) remained discontinued since May 6. The move has been termed as a “blackout” of media across Punjab and has sparked statewide protests.
Since early this week, Punjab Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and others have been blaming the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for stopping the airing of this channel across Punjab. Protests have been seen across Punjab. Yesterday, on May 9, MLA Simarjit Singh Bains, along with his 15 supporters were arrested by the Ludhiana police as they held a protest against the Government, alleging a media blackout.
The protest turned violent as stones were pelted on police officers by some protesters outside the Grand Walk Mall on Ferozepur road. Simarjit Bains blamed the Fastway cable network for working under influence of the State Government. He held the Akali Dal responsible for the blackout against Zee TV.
Earlier, the Punjab Government was in the limelight when it disconnected services by two prominent TV channels, namely ABP Sanjha and Day & Night News. However, in contrast to such allegations, the Akali Dal (B) has claimed innocence. The State Government claimed that it had nothing to do with cancellation of license for Zee TV.
The truth of the issue is still to come out but the broadcasting of election surveys and truthful debates on Punjab issues by Channel Zee (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal) have put the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) under suspicions. Surveys conducted by Channel Zee (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal) had revealed the negative image of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal).
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