Guwahati (The Stellar News): After visible concerns with uncertainties that the eastern Assam based Dibrugarh All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) would soon turn into only relay centres only, State chief minister Sarbananda Sonowa stepped into the matter urging the Union information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry to retain the present status of both Dibrugarh AIR and DDK.
In a letter to the I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, Sonowal raised the issue of Prasar Bharati’s recent directives for reassigning Dibrugarh AIR and DDK as relay centres to broadcast and telecast Guwahati AIR and DDK programs only (read curtailing their capacity to produce own programs) and asserted that both the centres remain instrumental in reflecting the cultural mosaic and indigenous traditions of communities in Assam including eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
“Both the Dibrugarh AIR (which completed 50 years in 2019) and Dibrugarh DDK (which is functioning as a full-fledged station since 1993) should not be relegated to the status of relay centres as Guwahati AIR and DDK would be overburdened to appropriately mirror the rich cultural nuances of this part of country,” said Sonowal in his letter.
He also touched upon the concerns caused by transfer of artistes and employees from Dibrugarh DDK to outside north-eastern region without replacements and underlined the resentment caused among various leading citizens and organizations of the State about the possible loss of employment opportunities for local artistes in both the
centres.
