Radio Kashmir Jammu, started to counter Pak propaganda, has no official to monit

Radio Kashmir Jammu, started to counter Pak propaganda, has no official to monit
PRADEEP DUTTA

JAMMU, MAY 16: Time 5.58 am: The announcement for the morning transmission begins - Yeh Vividh Bharti ka Radio Kashmir Jammu Kendra hai. Ab aap bandhan vaar sunyega (This is Vividh Bharti's Radio Kashmir's Jammu Station. Now you will listen to Bandhan Vaar).

But, much to the chagrin of ardent Vividh Bharti listeners, even after considerable time, there is no sound, not to talk of any tune. The reason: the duty officer who has to link the programme with Mumbai Station fails to turn up on time.

Though not a new phenomenon, as casual staffers point out, the channel which was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta on April 14 with much fanfare suffers acute shortage of staff.

Interestingly, at the time of the channel's inauguration, it was proclaimed that the channel would "play an important role in countering the Pakistani propaganda in various border districts.''

Many listeners, apprehending a defect in their transistor sets, switch over to other channels only to realise that their favourite fare, dished out daily from Mumbai, has failed to establish link. Ironically, not because of any technical snag either at the receiving or connecting station, but due to the absence of the supervisory staff.

As has become the rule rather than an exception, the officials who monitor the transmission fail to arrive on schedule, thus leaving thousands of listeners without their favourite music programme on most of the week days.

The programme starts only when several phone calls are made repeatedly at the station director's place. Finding himself in a fix and without any duty officer and announcer at the studio, he has no option but to call a senior announcer from their place to get the programme on air.

This invariably results in many employees failing to make it in time and hence the "temporary recess" till their arrival at the Station.

Not only this, many a times when the announcer fails to arrive in time, the duty officer simply connects the station with the broadcasting station without any announcement.

"Because of this also we are losing a large amount of money. Unless we give our programme an identity how can we be able to run such commercial service," says one of the senior officer of the station.

When contacted, Dr Ashok Jerath, Station Director, Radio Kashmir Jammu, choses to lay the blame on the AIR authority for not providing them with adequate staff to run the channel.

"For political mileage, they started the programme, but afterwards they did not provide the requisite staff and other infrastructure to ensure its smooth running," Jerath said.

"If such problems will continue, time is not far when the people will stop listening to this programme and instead will opt for other stations," said Jeetinder Singh, a resident of R S Pura border.