Gurgaon Ki Awaaz: Broadcasting the voice that represents society
Shubha Jain, TNN | Jul 2, 2012, 02.12AM IST
GURGAON: Armed with egg-trays for the purpose of absorbing the echo in the
modest studio, hand-me-down computers and radio-sets, Gurgaon Ki Awaaz, airing
on 107.8 Mhz, is the only radio station amongst the 26 radio stations operating
in Delhi/NCR which is led by the civil society.
The radio station is heard over a radius of 8 to 10 km from its studio in
Gurgaon and functions for 22 hours, 6 days a week. It is the initiative of an
NGO called The Restoring Force (TRF), which aims at voicing the opinions of
marginalised communities in the Millennium City that have been drowned by rapid
industrialisation.
Its listeners comprise mainly of migrant workers, drivers, security guards,
women and children living in nearby villages. The station broadcasts shows that
share information about daily happenings in Gurgaon, be it education, career,
health, women empowerment or self-employment.
The spark in 22-year-old Jyoti's eyes could hardly be missed when she spoke
about a new show that she was working on. Jyoti, who has been working with the
radio station for the past two and half years, is a part of a show that will
help listeners to speak and read English better. The radio channel not only
works towards the development of the unheard communities, but also talks about
various social issues like dowry, female foeticide, domestic violence, that
plague this strata of the %society.
"Apna Nazariya Apna Kaam" is one of the most popular shows, where Amrit Beriwal
talks about starting small businesses like candle-making, selling 'namkeen' or
providing door-to-door 'maalish' service. 'Galli Galli Sim Sim' is another
favourite show handled by 22-year-old MA student, Vandana. It serves as an
entertaining-cum-informative programme for children as well as parents.
Tarachand, 42, who is a security guard, is a regular listener of the station
and calls at least twice a day. He said, "It is a platform for us to vent out
our grievances. We also get to hear songs which we only ever hear in our
villages."
As a matter of principle, the station plays only folk songs, ballads, bhajans
in various languages like Hindi, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani and even Oriya.
As Arti Jaiman, Station Director, said, "107.8 MHz has carved an identity of
being the 'Ragini-wala station' in the hearts of its listeners."
The station provides an opportunity for talented singers and music mandalis
from villages to record and air their music for free. Hence, the earnings of
the station are next to nothing. It manages to survive on the funds provided by
TRF, project funding and the meagre number of advertisements from local shops
and shelter homes.
When Jaiman spoke about the biggest challenge of starting a community radio
station, the anger in her voice was evident.
She said, "The Department of Telecommunication has hiked the license fee from
Rs 19,700 per annum to Rs 91,000 per annum and then they hope to have 3,000
radio stations in India."
Her top priority is to fight for community radio stations that cater to that
sector of the population which cannot read newspapers.
She feels that these issues not only curb the right to freedom of speech and
expression but also take away a citizen's right to listen to information
pertinent to society.
Jaiman and her team hopes that Gurgaon Ki Awaaz will emerge from these
difficulties and continue to air the unheard and subdued voices of the city.
Join the Community Radio Forum. For membership details, please go to
www.crforum.in
