BHUBANESWAR: A major fire broke out in the high power FM transmission site of All India Radio (AIR) at Tulasipur on Tuesday, causing extensive damage to the transmission facilities of three private FM radio operators and disrupting services.
Leading private FM channel, Radio Choklate, bore the brunt while two other broadcasters in the same complex were also seriously affected. Property worth crores is reported to have been damaged.
According to reports, the fire broke out in the transmission facility of Radio Choklate at around 11 am, purportedly due to a short circuit in the uninterrupted power supply system (UPS). A spark soon took shape of a rage which spread from the room to the nearby ones gutting transmission equipment and other infrastructure.
Two fire tenders from CDA and Cuttack main fire stations rushed to the spot. It took around 10 firemen an hour to bring the fire under control, City Fire Officer Chandramohan Routray said.
The FM transmission site has two complexes with the new one housing the three broadcast services of AIR, Vividh Bharati, FM Rainbow and IGNOU while the old complex had transmission facilities of Radio Choklate, Big FM and Red FM. The three private FM services were disrupted following the fire.