The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No takers for community radio programme

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Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No takers for community radio programme

Staff Reporter

NGOs backed out as they had to bear one-third of the cost

UNESCO official says the country has huge potential in this field
The technology manual was released at the seminar

BANGALORE: “Namma Banuli”, the State Government’s initiative to prop up community radio, does not seem to have many takers. Even with Rs. 1 crore being allocated in the form of subsidies in the State Budget 2007, the scheme has not met with desired results.

Speaking at a seminar, “Community Radio in India” here on Sunday, Information Commissioner K.V.R. Tagore said several interested communities/non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had backed out of the programme when they came to know that they had to contribute. According to the policy, NGOs have to contribute one-third of the cost while the rest would be funded by the Government. The two-day seminar was organised by Voices, an NGO, supported by the State Government and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.

A press release from Voices said that as a result of the session on “Whose technology is it anyway?”, the representatives of the State Government agreed to subsidise the costs for translating the manuals to Kannada so that it could be accessible to the poor. “The technology being mooted is expensive, which is why this seminar is important. We are trying to put forward technological solutions which were cheap and affordable,” said Ashish Sen, director of Voices.

Jocelyne Josiah, adviser for communication and information, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said the country had huge unused potential in this field.

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