This is Radio Namaskar - ‘promoting the voice of voiceless’. The broadcasting station of ‘Radio Namaskar’, the first community radio of Orissa is situated in Konark city and set up by ‘Young India’, a civil society organization.
We, as students of IIMC Dhenkanal, visited the station of ‘Radio Namaskar’ in the first week of January 2010 and Biswanath, one of the employee, invited us in to their world. The station is located on first floor of the ‘Young India’s’ office which include a studio, administrative office and visitor’s room. “We are now six employers including a Programme executive, assistant executive editor and three copy editors’, Biswanath said.
The station went on air from February 2010. Most of the programmes are in Oriya and aired at 90.4 MHz in FM frequency. The main aim of Radio Namaskar is to promote communicable link among the proposed villages to develop an enabling environment for an all time connection among them that will ensure flow of information or benefits and access to all amenities and benefit for the targeted people.
“We provide a medium to give vent to the aspirations, concerns and communication needs of the local community that are otherwise overlooked by the mainstream media,” said N A Shah Ansari, President, Young India. They also intend to promote a group of trained and organized youths or women from target group who will sustain the momentum of this project.
They have divided the programmes in to four sections – local governance, food security, women in front and youth for development and its impact was visible within a few months of its launch. At one time, there were no farmers applying for MOPOKHARI scheme (NREGS) in Gop Block of Puri District. ‘Radio Namaskar’ aired an announcement regarding MO POKHARI in 1st week of March 2010 as per the suggestion of BDO, Gop Block. The block administration, soon after this, received 123 applications from the rural farmers of different GPs of Gop Block. 97 worker orders are issued by block administration.
There is a strong advisory board supporting them. The board includes with Dr Almas Ali, Development advisor, New Delhi, Mr. Amarijyothi Nayak, regional representative of Action Aid, Bhubanewar, Mr. Bansudev Mohapatra, editor, Hotandhit news features, Dr. Bhagbanprakash, veteran social activist, Bhubanewar, Mr. Biren Das, Development Communication Expert, Bhubaneswar, Dr. Dhandakanda Mishra, Chairman, HDF, Bhubaneswar, Mr. Kedar Dash, communication expert, New Delhi, Mr. Manas Ranjan, Right to food activist, Bhubaneswar, Mr. Prakash Nayak, Development Communication Expert, New Delhi, Dr. Sreedhar, Director, CEMCA, New Delhi, Mr. Rajan Varada, Moderator and Resource person, UNESCO, New Delhi, Mr. Rajkishore Mishra, state advisor to commissioners, Supreme court of India, Mr. Ramapada Nanda, former station Director, AIR, Jaipur, Mr. S A Shafique, Ghandian activist, Orissa, Mr. Sajan Venniyoor, communication expert, New Delhi, Mr. S K Mohd Niyaz, Development consultant, Know All Consultancy, New Delhi and Mr. Umi Daniel, Head- migration-South Asia, Aide et Action. Radio Namaskar has achieved partnership agreement with various national and international organizations like CEMCA, One World South Asia, UNESCO, C4D India, KnowAll Consultancy and Hotandhit newsfeature and promoted by a local leading RTI activist NA Shah Ansari.
