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Jamshedpur, Feb. 21: Private FM channels are all set to make a foray in the state.

Players like Reliance Adlabs, Neutral Publications, BAG Infotainment and the Jagran group would begin their operations soon with Adlabs, which owns BIG FM, beginning to conduct walk-in interviews for RJs in Calcutta from tomorrow.

Tenders for the private stations were invited in 2005 by the Union ministry of information and broadcasting.

Adlabs and Neutral Publications have bagged the tenders for both Ranchi and Jamshedpur. BAG Infotainment and a company of the Jagran group would have one station in Ranchi while the South Asia group would have a station in Jamshedpur.

Speaking to The Telegraph from Calcutta, BIG FM associate vice-president Sudev Datta said they would soon launch the stations in both the cities. “The process of obtaining towers from Broadcasting Engineering Consultant India Limited (Becil) is on and as soon as we get it we will begin our operations,” he said, adding that in all likelihood they would begin operations from June-end, if not earlier.

Becil, a Union government enterprise under the ministry of information and broadcasting, works as consultant, system integrator and solutions provider. The agency has been entrusted with the job of setting up towers for the agencies in Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

R.K. Dutta, general manager of Neutral Publications, said: “It would at least take another two to three months to launch the station.”

A.B. Chakrabarty, the Akashvani station director in Ranchi, said the space for the transmitters has been allotted to the private operators and work has to be done from their end.

Private FM channels in Ranchi and Jamshedpur are under the Union ministry’s expansion plan (phase II) according to which 338 stations will be distributed to private parties in 91 cities across the country.