The city will have its first community radio in Tulu if a move by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy becomes a reality.
The policy guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for setting up community radio stations in the country said: “...programmes should preferably be in the local language and dialect(s)...”
The chairman of the academy Dayananda Kattalsar told The Hindu that the academy has requested Rs. 50 lakh from C. T. Ravi, Minister for Kannada and Culture to set up the radio station in the Tulu Bhavana at Urwa Stores.
The idea is to have a radio station which will broadcast all programmes only in Tulu under the auspices of the academy. The recording studio to be set up for the purpose can also be used for documenting the diversity of Tulu culture and the documentaries to be preserved in the academy.
Mr. Kattalsar, who was also a radio jockey with a private FM channel in the city earlier, said that had presented the programmes in Tulu for three hours, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. daily, for five years in the particular channel until he stopped it about one-and-half-year ago.
The chairman said that the academy is planning to use Tulu effectively for community development through radio and also to project the richness of Tulu culture, sports and other diversity through an exclusive radio channel.
He said that once the funds are assured, the academy would pursue the proposal further as approvals from the concerned government departments would have to be obtained for setting up the station.
Meanwhile, the Union ministry’s guidelines further said that the programmes should be of immediate relevance to the community. The emphasis should be on developmental, agricultural, health, educational, environmental, social welfare, community development and cultural programmes. “At least 50% of content shall be generated with the participation of the local community,” it said. (EOM)
