Lobzang Chinba
Media in any form plays the ro1e of educator, informer and entertainer and of all the form of media electronic media has an edge over print and new forms of media because of its audio visual form besides, its strong face to face interaction which is advantageous in holding the attention and influencing the mind sets of the viewers. And when it comes to regional television broadcast, the effect gets doubled with increased expectations on part of viewers both in terms of quality and content of the programmes as the ratio of association is greater between the viewers and the programmes with higher degree of connectivity and belongingness.
In 2000, when Prasar Bharti launched the Doordarshan Kendra Leh, a one hour slot of regional telecast from Leh Doordarshan TV station, there was no limit to the happiness of the Ladakhis, it was like with their own TV telecast they have taken another giant step towards development raising their aspirations and confidence. Dreams and expectations ruled children and people of every age in the region with the announcement of 1 hour local TV telecast once a week from DDK Leh, many of the local artists, producers, directors, unemployed degree holders in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism sensed a ray of hope and opportunity to practice their talent in the relevant fields, the feel of a strong medium of information dissemination, showcasing the cultural heritage of Ladakh was generated. DDK was accepted by the local people with open heart and high regards almost like a new member in their house.
After its inception in 2000, for initial few years DDK Leh escaped the critical eyes as it was in its infant stage and trying to evolve better with each passing year, with improved quality and content of the programmes. Local viewers too didn’t seem to be having any complaints as they were happy with the fact that at least they have a regional Ladakhi TV telecast. However, their patience began to wear thin as it never showed any sign of improvement. The content and presentation of programmes have rather eroded over the years, and there are evidences to substantiate this statement. Some TV soaps and documentaries produced in the initial years were relatively good attempts that raised some expectations. However, the standard never rose instead the whole process of filmmaking in most of the cases was a complete dejection to the viewers.
It is a matter of grave concern that despite frequent appeals and protest letters, the concern authority is not giving a serious thought to it. It may be recalled here that once a Regional Advisory Committee for DDK Leh was constituted comprising eminent scholars, writers and artists, who would be resourceful in giving useful advices and necessary guidance in terms of quality of content, and it got the approval from the Prasar Bharati New Delhi. DDK Leh never felt necessary to hold any Regional Advisory Committee meeting, which concerns everybody but also draws skepticism as to what holds them from taking any step in this regard despite high level interventions including from the LAHDC Leh. Is it pointing towards mismanagement or corruption, which has, unfortunately, become the buzz word for this institution among the general public following in the footsteps of some other notorious Govt. sectors? If it is so, it amounts to letting this important govt. media go into the clutches of a system ridden with corruption at the cost of right information and true art.
In fact soon after the formation of the Advisory Committee the members demanded that DDK Leh should have local professionals who would be sensitive to the local culture while executing the programmes. However, it didn’t change the situation at all. It was also demanded that the technical staff employed on contractual bases should have adequate qualifications and technical expertise, however. The DDK production team is still manned by some highly under qualified people, while there are Post Graduate degree holders in Mass Communication looking for jobs. A review of technical staff manning the production unit is imperative and fresh recruitment of qualified people. To overhaul the system, and prevent lobbying groups to completely take over the operation of this most prestigious Govt. Media Organisation is the need of the hour.
It is very intriguing to observe that the number of viewers of DDK, Leh still remains relatively very minimal confined to a particular section of the society. Even the starting of local news bulletin by DDK, Leh didn’t make much difference because of serious lack of professional news readers and reporters. Adding to the problem is the DDK, Leh avoiding local news coverage which has aggravated the local sentiment against this organization.
It is imperative to remind that whole purpose of invigoration of LAHDC, Leh was to promote and preserve local cultural values; TV is the strongest media to achieve so. It is very unfortunate that despite the realization LAHDC has never paid serious attention to it. DDK Leh is the only visual media in Ladakh, and yet it is the most powerful one in terms of influencing the minds of the people. In this view, it becomes a great responsibility of the LAHDC, Leh to ensure proper regulation, without any corruption, of this media in all respects.
A LAHDC level fact finding committee may be formed to probe into the funding proportions vis-a-vis the actual production and quality. Asset in proportion to income of the staffs may also be looked into by this committee for further action. The committee could also scrutinize the backlog records of the organization. If it doesn’t come under the purview of LAHDC the purpose could be achieved through filing RTI involving organizations such as Ladakh Cultural Forum and concerned individuals.
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