It has proved its importance in the past. By alerting people living in the remote and coastal areas of Odisha, where TV networks are poor, about the rushing Hudhud cyclone recently, the radio has only proved its relevance once again.
The fact is that there are many such places even today in Uttarakhand where people do not have access to TV or even newspapers. So whereas the Government of India has emphasised on the need to strengthen radio network as a medium to reach out to the people of remote areas, an FM radio project that the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry had proposed for Kumaon's Haldwani region still remains pending for want of land and other reasons since 2007.
It is worth mentioning that there is no radio station in Kumaon's important Terai destination. The nearest radio station here is at Rampur in UP. Though there are radio stations in neighbouring districts like Almora and Pithoragarh they are not catering to the rest of Kumaon region due to short range of these radio stations. We have now taken up the Haldwani FM radio
proposal with the Rampur radio station to pursue this matter further with the department concerned, said Yogesh Mishra, member of the Rampur radio advisory committee, while talking to The Pioneer.
The proposal with regard to opening an FM radio station here at Haldwani has not materialised since 2007 mainly for want of land, he added.
Though there are other means of communications and entertainment like TV becoming a household name, FM/radio has its own importance even in today's fast world. This is because people can listen to news/entertainment even on their mobile handsets any time anywhere. But that is not true in the case of other means of communications like TV.
More importantly, FM/ radio also provides a platform for rural and folk artists to show their talent through the radio. Thus it also helps to promote local art, culture and traditions that the present generation inherits from the ancient times.
Presently, there is no radio station in this region; so it is difficult for the artists to go to perform at the Rampur radio station from here, says Kishan Ram, a folk artist. T
hough the Government agencies invite us to perform on certain occasions these opportunities are only few and far between, he added.Since the Government of India had proposed an FM radio station for Haldwani region the responsibility rests with the local leaders, including MP, MlA as public representatives, to pursue the Haldwani FM radio proposal further, maintains Kishan Ram.But such an important project like the FM radio station for Haldwani region pending for such a long period only reflects the negligence and rather insensitivity on the part of these leaders, he regrets.