BIT granted permission to operate community radio station

The programmes, in local language, will be on air from July

May 04, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:39 am IST - ERODE:

Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT), Sathyamangalam, has signed Grant of Permission of Agreement (GOPA) with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to establish Community FM Radio in its campus.

The first such radio station to come up in Gobichettipalayam Revenue Division will be commissioned next month. After obtaining the licence from the Ministry on August 12, 2014, BIT secured approvals from the District Collector, Erode, the Director of Technical Education, Chennai, and the Tamil Nadu Government for starting the community radio broadcasting service.

In the Letter of Intent (LOI) issued by the Ministry, the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing assigned frequency of 90.4 MHz. The SACFA (Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocation) clearance came during December 2014.

According to a BIT press release, the community radio will be utilised to promote general welfare of common people and provide them access to information about the country’s social, economic, political, linguistic and geographical diversities. The vision of Bannari Amman Community FM Radio is to create a community with equal access to awareness, information, involvement and rights, and encourage freedom of expression.

The community radio station had been envisaged to empower the poor, illiterate, voiceless and unprivileged members of the community to claim and acquire legitimate freedom and entitlement, the release said.

The broadcast had been planned for 10 hours a day: 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. The programmes, in local language, would be on air from July 2015.

They would encompass lectures, seminars, conferences, skit, drama, debates, songs, discussions and interviews on topics such as community development, healthcare, social awareness would be broadcasted in local language.

The format, presentation, language and subject would reflect 75 per cent local relevance.

The BIT would be shortly setting up an FM radio transmitter of 50 watts capacity and a 30-meter high radio tower, the release said.

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