GUWAHATI, March 10 � In a welcome gesture, the Prasar Bharati has assured steps to upgrade its technological and human resource infrastructure in the Doordarshan (DD) network across the North Eastern region shortly, besides setting up a round the clock (24�7) DD Assamese channel, said a press release of the League of TV Producers� Associations of North East India (TVPANEI).
These assurances were given to a league delegation by the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari, Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawahar Sircar and senior Prasar Bharati officials in a meeting with its delegation in New Delhi on March 4.
The delegation was also assured steps to settle the pending dues of the NE producers against the commissioned programmes within the current month. It was further assured steps to look into streamlining the empanelment of producers for commissioned programmes and also to make transparent the DD in-house programme allotment process.
The league, a nascent umbrella organisation of the Producers� Council, North East Film and TV Producers and Directors Association and Dibrugarh Doordarshan Producers� Forum, presented a memorandum to the Union Minister highlighting the above issues.
The delegation, accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Prasad Baishya, met the Union Minister and explained to him how the Doordarshan Kendras of the region are run with obsolete equipment. Besides, none of the Doordarshan Kendras in the region is headed by a programme executive, it alleged.
The delegation alleged that in the region neither the disbursal of funds to create fresh programming was happening on a yearly basis nor the hardware augmentation was at par with the rest of the country.
In the fiscal year 2010-11, DDKs of the North East entrusted over one thousand empanelled producers of the country to make programmes, but many of these producers are yet to receive payments even after submitting their programmes.
Moreover, no programme was allotted for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscals. It further alleged that the DDKs of the region had not initiated any step to renew and update the list of empanelled producers even after the validity of the last list expired in November, 2012.
The delegation pointed out that there is no Doordarshan satellite channel for Assamese language. Besides, it stated that there is only one OB van for the entire NE region.
The delegation comprised league chairman Pramod Das and Producers� Council working president and general secretary respectively Jayanta
Goswami and Irsadul Hussain. New Delhi-based senior journalist Utpal Borpujari was also present at the meeting.
