Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 20: Pakistani troops are currently not only resorting to ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir, the mentors of the ongoing proxy war from across the border are equally bombarding the airwaves, as Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting finds itself in the dock to check the cultural invasion and enemy propaganda unleashed in this border State.
The apathy of the Ministry is evident from the fact that ever since the formation of Prasar Bharati in 1997, both All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan, which were earlier directly under the domain of the Central Government, have now gone “directionless ” to address to this grave problem.
Even as crores of tax payers’ money is being claimed to have been spent every year in the name of so-called “J&K Package”, however, in the absence of any concrete media policy and trained staff, the counter-propaganda module during the past few years has virtually turned defunct in the State so as to take the bull by the horns.
Informed sources told EXCELSIOR that so much so was the deteriorating state of affairs and adhocism prevailing in the thought process of Prasar Bharati management that it had even ignored to act upon the concern expressed by none other than the Governor of this sensitive State who had written to the Ministry in the past to brief him of “Ministry’s current thinking and future plans about the coverage to be provided in J&K”.
The sources said that in June 2013, Governor, N N. Vohra had reminded the then Union Minister of I&B of the need to have a strong presence in the State. In his letter, the Governor had drawn the attention of the Minister towards non-functioning of the Doordarshan Kendra at Rajouri, besides a similar story regarding the functioning of AIR Kargil on a “ sustained basis”.
The sources said even as a request had come from the gubernatorial office wishing both AIR and Doordarshan to show a strong presence in the border state, “particularly to serve the population which resides along International Border, LoC, and Line of Actual Control and in other remote and difficult areas in the hinterland”, Prasar Bharati, as on date, had failed to gear up and done nothing to augment its men and machinery.
“Instead, the officials at the helm of affairs had allowed the situation to get further worsened, so much so that Doordarshan Kendras of Jammu, Srinagar and Leh will be left with a single Programme Executive by the end of 2015”, sources in the Doordarshan said.
They said Doordarshan Kendra, Jammu and Srinagar had written atleaset five letters apiece to the higher authorities, including CEO, Prasar Bharati, to post the language knowing programme officers to man these kendras. “Even the staff posted at Radio Jammu and Srinagar could have been shifted to Doordarshan Jammu and Srinagar. But this simple exercise appeared to be a herculean job for Prasar Bharati”, the sources said.
They said that in the absence of a concrete policy and proper staff to counter the enemy propaganda, AIR establishments at Poonch, Kargil and Leh had virtually surrendered while restricting their presence merely to papers. While Doordarshan Srinagar had presented a few programmes, the condition of Doodrashan Jammu was equally worse, with an adhoc Assistant Director heading the programme wing.
The sources pointed out that as against seven FM Government owned and private radio Stations operating from across the border in Poonch and Rajouri Sectors, there was just a single Station of AIR at Poonch with hardly two Programme Executives ( out of them one adhoc) to fight the enemy propaganda. “Stations like AIR Rajouri and Nowshera were operating for the past one decade just as relaying Stations without any in-house production”, the sources added.
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