Army launches community radio station in JK's Ladakh

Leh/Jammu, Nov 25: Northern Army Commander, Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar inaugurated a community radio station set up by the force in Hanle village in Ladakh on Monday.

In a post on X, the Northern Command shared, "Lt Gen M.V. Suchindra Kumar, Army Commander, Northern Command, along with the GOC, Fire & Fury Corps, inaugurated the community radio station at Hanle, Ladakh."

A historic village, Hanle comprises six hamlets: Bhok, Dhado, Punguk, Khuldo, Naga, and a Tibetan refugee settlement.

The Indian Army operates community radio stations in remote regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the post said. These stations are managed by local RJs, offering entertainment and regional content based on local interests to the residents.

"In the remotest and coldest region, locals will tune into the community radio station established by the Dhruva Command," an officer stated.

The Army has already set up several community radio stations across the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. These include Drass, Karu, Leh and Baramulla in Ladakh and Pir Panjal region in J-K.

Hanle, located at an altitude of 4,300 metres, is also home to the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) observatory, the world's highest-imaging Cherenkov telescope. This observatory highlights India’s advancements in space and cosmic-ray research.

The MACE observatory, built indigenously by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) with support from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited and other Indian industry partners, is also the largest imaging Cherenkov telescope in Asia.