GUWAHATI, Dec 4 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has written a letter to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Prakash Javadekar raising the issue of Prasar Bharati�s directives for reassigning All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Dibrugarh as relay centres only.
Through the letter, he urged the Union Minister to retain the present status of both AIR and DD Dibrugarh centres as these centres have been instrumental in reflecting the cultural mosaic and indigenous traditions of communities in Upper Assam and even eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
Both the Dibrugarh centres of DDK, functioning as a full-fledged station since 1993 and AIR Dibrugarh, which completed 50 years in 2019, should not be relegated to the status of relay centres as Guwahati centres of AIR and DDK would be overburdened to appropriately mirror the rich cultural nuances of this part of country, he wrote.
Dibrugarh Staff Correspondent adds: The general public here today staged demonstration demanding the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to retain the Radio Station as a full-fledged programme producing radio station.
The protestors, who included members from the public, artiste groups and ethnic organisations informed through a memorandum that if it is degraded to be only a relay station from the capital, then the broadcast of the ethnic cultural programmes will be stopped, and more than 2000 artists and workers would have become jobless.
Moreover it would hamper the national unity and integrity among the people of this region, considering the fact that the areal distance between Dibrugarh town and China Border of Arunachal is only about 400 kilometers. Therefore from the national security and strategic point of view, this station is most important and very mush essential to counter the Chinese cultural expansionism among these people, who in vast majority belong to the Chinese Mongoloid Origin, the organisations stated.
The protest, which was held at the entrance of the Dibrugarh Radio Station, was joined by members from several organisations. The protestors held its protest march from the office of Dibrugarh Sahitya Sabha Dibrugarh before congregating at the entrance of the Dibrugarh Radio Station.
Pertinent to mention that Dibrugarh Radio Station (AIR, Dibrugarh) is one of the largest and strategically important local radio station of the North-east.
This is the sixth largest medium wave radio station in India broadcasting in both AM (567 kHz at 529.1 metres of MW) and FM (101.30 MHz) bands airing three transmissions a day along with a 5-minute regional news bulletin at 6:00 PM every day. All India Radio, Dibrugarh was commissioned way back on 15 February 1968. The station has its studios located at Malakhubosa in Dibrugarh and the high power transmission tower located at Lepetkata near the present Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited site.
