NEW DELHI: Doordarshan is the media partner of the Ziro Festival of Music (ZFM) commencing today at the remote Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

ZFM is a four-day festival organised by a cultural organisation with the support of Tourism Department of Arunachal Pradesh and Ministry of Development of North East region (DoNER). The festival will continue till 25 September.

Doordarshan director-general Supriya Sahu said this was the first time that DD was associating with the unique festival, and it was a part of strengthening DD programmes in the north-east region.

Doordarshan Kendra, Itanagar (Arunachal) and Programme Production Centre (NE) of the Guwahati Kendra will provide intensive coverage of the entire festival. It will be telecast on DD-National, DD-Bharati, DD-India, DD-North East and Doordarshan Kendra Itanagar. DD-News will also cover the festival.

Sahu said that, as a public service broadcaster, Doordarshan hopes that it would promote local tourism at Ziro Valley through its national telecast. The festival, which started in 2012, attracts large numbers of tourists to the state.

ZFM is one of the most popular outdoor festivals attracting artistes from the region as well as internationally-renowned artistes and travellers from across the world. Ziro Valley is a world heritage site and is home to the Apatani agrarian tribe.