Both attracted a good number of teens, yuppies, car drivers and music loving people for their music collection and traffic news which are aired round the clock.

"These stations are a good access to the world of music. They reflect variation and good taste. The songs are really fantastic," said Rajib, a university student.

"After Metrowave (a popular radio channel) was shut down, young music lovers were disappointed but now these two channels will cater to their choice. My friends and I have iPods and mp3 players but still we are buying radios to listen to these stations," said Shiplu, a music lover.

"But one problem is there is no chic radio sets for young trendy people. We need not only new channels but also new fashionable radio sets," he added.

"The stations are specially designed for teens. Old people are kind of excluded. If they do not change this stance they will lose listeners," he said.

"The music selection is excellent but they speak Bangla in a weird accent. This is very irritating. Radios are for people from all walks of life, so the accents should be normal and Rabindra and Nazrul songs should be included though these are not popular among young people," said Mamun, a university student.

"These stations are very useful for traffic news and talk shows. It will be better if they can broadcast short news bulletins at an hourly basis," said Saeed, a car driver, adding that he likes to listen to it while he is stuck in traffic jams.

"SMS voting and audience surveys are also good sides," he said.

"Our focus group is 18-35 which includes students of colleges and universities and young urban professionals. We did some audience surveys and the accent is ok for them. It is a different accent but not wrong," said Mahmudur Rahman, outside broadcaster, Radio Foorti.

"We are developing a new style for those who are old in terms of age, but young by heart. We will continue it as long as majority of people accepts it. After the test transmission period is complete we will start news bulletins soon," said Saiful Amin, editor, Radio Today.

Zakir, who was an avid listener of BBC and Durbar, a radio programme for soldiers, pointed out the role of visual media behind the dwindling image of Bangladesh Betar.

"People in Dhaka do not bother listening to radios but those belonging to remote villages where no TV exists, still sticking to it. When I go to my village I have to listen to radio because there is no electricity in that remote territory," he said.

"Radio dramas were very popular in the 1980s. People used to sit around a radio and when a song or a drama started they listened to it in pin-drop silence. Now countless songs and dramas are going on in TV channels but people hardly bother," said Zakir adding that TV is now watched in most village markets.

Shaheen, a listener, alleged that sometimes Betar broadcasts wrong and misleading traffic information which is destroying its already wilting image.

"Forty years ago radio was the main channel to have a contact with the outside world. It was very exciting and most modern at that time. Now we have TV remotes and mobile phones at our fingertips," said Aziz, a former radio listener.

"We had a radio listeners' club and we used to listen till two in the morning. Radio Ceylon was one of our favourites."

"One of our jobs was to find out if any new station had been opened," he added.

"We had a seven-band radio which was the size of a TV set. Its high-pitched sound could be heard from the street outside our house. Father used to be angry with us because it disrupted our studies but it was our dream machine," said Daulatunnesa, a housewife, while reminiscing the halcyon days of radios.

"In those days people were obsessed about radios. My great grandmother used to sit in front of it the whole day," she said.

Despite the dwindling image there are some people who still recall the wartime role of Bangladesh Betar.

"How can I forget the revolutionary role played by Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro in the days of Liberation War? But now we have almost forgotten that Bangladesh Betar exists," said Atahar, a freedom fighter.