Call it a coincidence, or a well-planned strategy, on the day Aamir Khan made his TV debut with his show Satyamev Jayate, many homes in the city failed to receive the channel on which the episode was telecast. Several homes that subscribed to cable networks reported problems with the reception of Star TV on Sunday.
Interestingly, the first episode of Satyamev Jayate dealt with female foeticide and also featured a woman from Vastrapur area of the city who was thrown out of her house by her in-laws for giving birth to a girl child. Soon rumours began doing the rounds that the channel was not being shown under alleged pressure from the government who did not want any negative news about the state.
"Several households called us to complain that they could not access Star TV. Officially, it was said that it was due to a technical snag but there are also talks about a government diktat regarding the same as they did not want any negative news about Gujarat," said a cable operator. He further said that payment issues with the channel were also being mentioned as the reason for the channel not being shown.
However, Devang Bhatt of GTPL, which has the majority share in the cable business in the state, said that they did not receive any complaints. "All the channels were being shown as per schedule. There were no complaints regarding any channel," said Bhatt.
A resident of Ghodasar, Payal Shah said that Star TV was accessible and they watched Satyamev Jayate. "It was just that earlier we used to get it on channel 10 now we get it on 21," said Shah. Another resident said that the programme could also be seen on Doordarshan. "So where is the question of trying to subvert it," said the resident who did not wish to be identified.
