Kathmandu: Enraged at the growing power crisis in Nepal and alleged unfair state laws, Nepal's private television stations Thursday declared "emergency".

Television Broadcasters Nepal, the umbrella of TV stations, said all private stations would shut down broadcasts from midnight to 5 a.m. from Thursday.

The protest came after the state electricity authority said it could enforce a 16-hour daily power outage to cope with power scarcity.

At present, the Nepal Electricity Authority has imposed a 12-hour daily blackout that has affected TV stations the most, causing viewership and advertisement revenue to plummet.

The association is also demanding the scrapping of broadcasting regulations imposed during deposed king Gyanendra's government in 2005 when there was tight media censorship.

Source : ians