Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 13: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharti, Jawahar Sircar, has said that Doordarshan, Srinagar has become a hub of corruption and assured that he will clear the mess and those responsible will not be spared.
Highly placed sources said that the CEO made these remarks during an annual conference of the North Zone officers of the official electronic media that was held at SKICC Srinagar yesterday. The CEO of Prasar Bharti, Directors General of Doordarshan and All India Radio and a number of other senior officers and station heads of different stations of DD and AIR were among around 100 officers who attended the conference.
Sources said that the CEO told the conference that no one will be spared, howsoever, political influence that person has. He said that even the retired officials will not be spared and assured the conference that he will go to the root cause of the corruption problem that the Srinagar DD is facing.
The CEO has also assured the heads of the official electronic media that the quality of the programmes of the AIR and the DD will be improved so as to increase its reach.
The axe of clearing the mess and fighting corruption in Srinagar DD has first fallen on the former Director DDK Srinagar, Dr. Rafiq Masoodi, who was Deputy Director General (DDG) DD at New Delhi. He has been placed under suspension early this week for misappropriation of funds amounting to crores of rupees, allotting contracts without proper sanction, and projection of wrong facts regarding engagement of casual labours at DDK Srinagar. Besides this a Departmental inquiry has found that he has allegedly purchased 9000 segments for DD’s Current Affairs morning show in 2009 and 2010.
The Private producers of Kashmir valley who also met the CEO leveled allegations against the present Director DDK Srinagar, Shammi Shair. They informed the CEO that she has failed to revive programme activity and has drawn Crores of rupees in the name of her friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbours and even her own drivers and domestic helps.
They have handed over several hundred page documents to CEO as an evidence of her alleged frauds. They have also handed over the documents regarding a State Government official who is close relative of the director and has been allegedly allotted contracts worth crores of rupees.
They alleged that present director has shut doors of DDK Srinagar for the private producers who have worked for the DDK Srinagar in difficult times.
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