Tune in to rural radio

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 18: Community radio stations, believed to be an important tool for social empowerment of marginalised people, are finally making inroads into rural Orissa.Bringing useful communication and radio programmes relevant to the community it serves, Koraput is ready with the first community radio station in the state. With a capacity to cover 15km radius on air, the station is being set up with the joint partnership of Unicef and Sova, a leading NGO in Orissa. The station at Chappar village, about 6km from the Koraput district headquarters, will be fully managed by the community and will cover about 51 villages, including Koraput town. The programmes will be designed by the community themselves and will be accessible to a population of about 1.5 lakh, said Sanjit Pattnaik, the secretary of Sova. At least 12 village youths, including five girls, have been trained as reporters, while one station manager has been appointed for it. "Their role will involve collection of news to be broadcast. Besides, we will also play programmes highlighting the culture and tradition of the area," said Pattnaik. "As of now, we will initially run recorded shows for trial base till we get final clearance from the government," he said, adding that the district collector was a part of the advisory committee. Programmes relating to development, government schemes, including NREGA, besides a host of
awareness and advocacy programmes will be its major contents.

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