Community radio powerful tool for social development: Heptulla

Our Bureau

IMPHAL | Sept 21

Community radio serves as powerful tool for community empowerment and social development, especially in regions that are hard to reach, have low levels of development and social parameters. 

This was stated by governor, Najma Heptulla, speaking on the opening day of the first community radio awareness workshop, organised by the ministry of information and broadcasting, government of India in collaboration with SMART (Steering Modern Applications For Real Transformation) at Classic Grande Hotel, Chingmeirong here today.

Governor Najma Heptulla and P.D. Sharma, deputy director of ministry of information and broadcasting, attended the 3- day long workshop as distinguished guests.

Continuing her speech, Heptulla said she first familiarised with the concept of community radio in Australia and Canada which are huge land areas and where physical communication is a big problem.

She assured the participants that she will write to the minister of information and broadcasting, Smriti Irani to promote community radio in a big way in Manipur.

“Let’s see if we can have a community radio at Raj Bhavan so that the public can share their grievances, happiness and experiences with me,” she said.

In her welcome address, Archana Kapoor, Founder, SMART said, “The presence of governor is an endorsement of her commitment to empower marginalised and vulnerable women. This is the first community radio awareness workshop being organised in Manipur though the government of India.”

The purpose of community radio is to provide access, control and ownership of a media platform that helps them to share, talk and discuss their issues of importance which are largely ignored by mainstream media, she added.

Paying thrust on the role of community radio for community development and bonding, preservation of local culture, and local identity, Archana explained that the main idea behind the workshop is to sensitise the participants about the potential of the community radio.

Concerning the Northeast region, P.D. Sharma said, the total Letter Of Intent (LOI) issued is 35, GOPA signed is 8, the total CR stations that became operational is 4 while new applications in process is 7. Stating that the ministry has recently introduced grants for content creation by CRSs, he hoped that the participants of the workshop would apply for a CR license very soon.

Pinky Chandran of Radio Active-90.4 MHz, Bengaluru, said that community radio stations are increasingly becoming core linked civic institutions by reflecting and engaging with different communities.

Further she said community radio is recognition of the diversity in our country and is a clear reflection of the heterogeneity of communities and the multiplicity of dialects.

Amit Dwivedi, assistant project manager, PMU, ministry of information and broadcasting and Khuswinder Singh Bhatia, manager, Broadcast Engineers Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) gave a detailed presentation on the key areas relating to CR policy guidelines, eligibility criteria and the elements of demystifying the process-application, Lol, SACFA & GoPA as resource persons

Fifty participants from all the different districts of the State took part in the workshop.