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Good morning Adilabad...! AIR to go FM way
As the euphoria of the first anniversary celebrations of Telangana settles down, a reality check shows that in the farthest corner of the State –Adilabad - a long pending project of All India Radio (AIR) awaits completion. Established in 1986 as a ‘local station’ to specifically broadcast sarkari news and to counter
Despite official apathy and political indifference, All India Radio station in the town is all set to become an FM channel with distinct local flavour both in dialect and content
Adilabad: As the euphoria of the first anniversary celebrations of Telangana settles down, a reality check shows that in the farthest corner of the State –Adilabad - a long pending project of All India Radio (AIR) awaits completion. Established in 1986 as a ‘local station’ to specifically broadcast sarkari news and to counter
Left wing extremist propaganda, AIR Adilabad station has the distinction of being the first one bestowed with local status in the then undivided State of Andhra Pradesh and third overall in India (the others being regional and national in status). With its current AM frequency transmission, it reaches out to merely 80-90 kms in the district which is spread across multiple terrains over 300 sq. kms. The FM station project planned by AIR Adilabad was originally a 10 KW one with 150 metre tower height.
This is now being upgraded to 1 KW to reach the surrounding 30-40 km radius and will be ready by August. The reason for this is attributed to the continuing neglect of Prasar Bharati of its compelling needs and a very ineffectual local political leadership, led by the ruling TRS party.
“We have just three programme executives and a few contract staff, yet we take pride in being the only radio station which uses genuine Telangana dialect in our transmission,” says Sumanaspati Reddy, programme head, AIR Adilabad. The programme mix comprises information bulletins, talk shows, interviews, phone-in programmes and even ubiquitous film songs.
The FM transmission will not only enhance the digital capabilities of the radio station and its overall quality but will be a stiff challenge to all those pretentious private FM radio channels, asserts Reddy. At present, the authentic dialect which the private FM radio spouts seems to be the only Telangana dialect being aired, questionable at the best, he argues.
Bureaucratic indifference and the inability of the local political netas to push the case in distant Delhi has meant obvious delays and crippled the reach and quality of the transmission which is being received rather well by the tribal and local population, if AIR sources are to be believed.
By:K Naresh Kumar
