BHUBANESWAR: Odisha is one of a few states where community radio is a must to give justice to marginalised communities. People living in remote areas of under developed regions don’t always enjoy the fruits of good governance due to lack of a transparent and accountable system. Ignorance and lack of opportunity strangulate their voice. Since the mainstream media don’t reach such pockets due to its commercial aspect, a void is left.
This is the area where the community has been struggling to raise its voice and community radios provide the much needed platform in their area of operation. With a mandate to produce majority of their content locally, they have been able to give voice to the voiceless community by broadcasting programmes in the local language or dialect.
According to NA Shah Ansari, President of Community Radio Association of India, “Community Radio is one of the most powerful mediums to reach out to people with information and be a vehicle of their voices to the local administration and leaders. It also has an entertainment value. A combination of all these elements and much more has made community radio one of the most appealing and effective communication mediums.”
For example, Radio Namaskar, a community radio functioning from Konark, broadcasts to around 800 villages across Puri district and 104 groups of listeners give their feedback to the media group.
Radio Namaskar – FM90.4MHz, the community radio of the state, was set up in the internationally renowned Sun Temple on 12th February 2010. It covers all villages in four blocks of Gop, Nimapada, Kakatpur and Astarang — the peripheral belt of Konark in Puri district.
Majority of the target groups are illiterate residents of peripheral areas on the coast of Bay of Bengal. Most of them are farmers, fishermen and other resource poor people. To help and communicate with them, Radio Namaskar reaches out to more than 4000 boat dwellers in Bay of Bengal. Since its launch, Radio Namaskar has been focusing mainly on the issues related to women, children, farmers and youth.
The community radio service also plays an important role in various other sectors. Its impact is clearly manifested. 123 rural farmers have applied for ‘Mo Pokhari’ in NREGS, ‘Education to All’ and Sarvasikhya Aviyan among others. It was a great achievement in Tailo village of Kadua Nuagaon panchayat of Kakatpur block in Puri district when the administration opened a new school on 24th May, 2010, thanks to Radio Namaskar’s unrelenting campaign. Similarly, the radio has helped girls in getting school admissions by taking up their cause in broadcasts. Radio Namaskar has started a campaign “Chala School Ku Jiba” (Let us go to School) to ensure all children attend classes in its coverage area.
Ansari said, “Initially, it was tough to make people know about the community radio’s initiatives. We had to work very hard. However, it (radio service) started benefiting people which fulfilled our sole objective.”
NIDHI SINHA, OP