Community radio brings out voice of Bengal's remote tea garden villages

PTI, SILIGURI, DECEMBER 19, 2023 : In a remote village among tea gardens in the northern part of West Bengal, an elderly retired army soldier narrates the stories of bravery during fights. In another such hamlet, a woman sings songs which are relatable to those living in all nearby villages. As their voices are aired on a community radio, listeners hear with rapt attention as they consider those expressions to be their own. 

"Recently we visited Dupkin village where we came across a widowed woman who told us how listening to our community radio station helped her overcome depression," radio jockey (RJ) Samir told PTI.

Samir and other RJs who work for Radio Salesian 90.8 FM, a community radio station, visit remote hill villages 6,500 feet above sea level in Darjeeling district to meet local Nepali-speaking people and make programmes on issues affecting them. In community radio, local people produce and broadcast their own programmes and participate in operating the station. 

"From the first week of November this year, our RJs have started moving out to villages every Saturday. We have an ambitious plan to reach out to 40 remote villages," said Father CM Paul, founder-director of Radio Salesian and vice principal of Salesian College. These villages are often not easily accessible by vehicles, compelling the RJs to cover a portion of the journey on foot, Fr Paul told PTI.

He said the RJs bring out what is happening in those remote villages and the issues like transport, water, sanitation, health, education and unemployment faced by the villagers. "After talking to the villagers, our RJs try to help them with their issues and also tell them about government schemes which are likely to mitigate their problems," Fr Paul said.

The RJs also try to create awareness among the villagers about having names in the voters' list and the importance of voting. Radio Salesian operates from 8 am to 8 pm daily. As mandated by regulations, 50 per cent or more of the programmes are made in collaboration with the community. "We have programmes for all categories of people - children, youths, women, elderly people, farmers, entrepreneurs, success stories," Fr Paul said. The RJs have become celebrities and their visit to a village turns out to be a festival. "We visit villages to give a voice to them. They treat us like celebrities and organise feasts for us. Retired Gurkha soldiers of the Indian Army tell us how they fought and other stories of bravery of fellow soldiers," Samir said.

The RJs also encourage the villagers with their talent in singing and sports. The pre-recorded programmes of village visits are aired from 7 am to 8 am. The programmes of the radio station are in Nepali and sometimes in English. Live shows are interactive and popular with the audience as they call on mobile, even from neighbouring districts of Nepal from where they make WhatsApp calls or send voice mails, Fr Paul said.

Radio Salesian is the first college-based community radio of Darjeeling Hills, as well as of North Bengal, Fr Paul claimed. He said the FM radio station which started operations in 2016 serves not only stakeholders of the college community (Faculty, students and their guardians) but also the local tea garden population spread out in the far-flung tea gardens and hill stations of Darjeeling, Mirik and Kurseong. 

"We work with government departments of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Children, UNICEF as well as NGOs for various campaigns related to health, literacy, sanitation and so on", said the founder director of the radio station.