The Community Radio Station (CRS), Radio Vishwas, in Nashik, Maharashtra, has made the city proud by bagging two awards at the 8th National Community Radio Awards.
These awards have been instituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The CRS bagged the first position in the “Sustainability Model Awards” category while taking home the second award in the “Thematic Awards” category. The latter was given to Radio Vishwas for its radio program 'Education for All' which was broadcast during Covid-19.
Radio Vishwas broadcasts programmes for 14 hours a day and it is run by the Vishwas Dhyan Prabodhini & Research Institute, Nashik.
'Shikshan Sarvansathi' (Education for All)
The initiative, 'Shikshan Sarvansathi' (Education for all) which picked the second position in the Thematic Category was commenced by the station in June 2020. The programme provides free education for students from 3rd to 10th grade all through the Covid-19 pandemic, when the schools were closed due to lockdown.
The audio lectures aired through the station provided access to all students in Zilla Parishad and Nashik Municipal schools. The multi-language programme was broadcast in Hindi, English, Marathi, and Sanskrit.
Talking to the Press Information Bureau about the initiative, the Station Director of Radio Vishwas, Dr. Hari Vinayak Kulkari said the programme received a very positive response. “These are the students who are trapped in poverty and cannot afford smart-phones for digital education. ‘Shikshan Sarvaansathi’ project was implemented with the help of 150 teachers who recorded lectures in our studio. The lectures were then aired according to the slots allocated to each subject. The programme received a huge response from the targeted community; approximately 50,000 – 60,000 students of municipal and ZP schools benefited.”
The sharing of the programme further extended its reach. Sharing details, Kulkarni informed that the lectures were also shared with six community radios in Maharashtra, so that they too could broadcast through their radio channels. “We are glad that we could help students from all over Maharashtra as six community radios approached us to share this content to broadcast in their respective cities”.
Kulkarni also informed about other measures adopted to ensure that the programme reached the targeted audience. He said teachers took the lead by distributing FM devices to students. “A group of teachers in Igatpuri taluka of Nashik distributed 451 FM devices (inclusive of USB, Bluetooth, high-end speakers) to students to ensure that they don't miss out on current syllabus. Teachers are also planning to upload it on YouTube, which can also be used when normal schooling begins.”
The station through its innovative model has been able to sustain itself in four key areas, namely, financial, human, technical and content sustainability. Over a period of 10 years, the station has amassed a listenership base of approximately three lakh people.
Among the popular programmes of Radio Vishwas are 'Shahri Parasbaag' (Kitchen Garden) that created and increased awareness about environment conservation; 'Mala Aavadlela Pustak' which is about favourite books to read; and 'Jaaniv Samajktechi', which focusses on difficulties faced by senior citizens.
A CRSs zones on local issues for the benefit of the local community in a radius of 10 to 15 kilometres and it hosts talk shows, plays local music and songs.
The National Community Radio Awards were instituted by the Ministry in the year 2011-12 to encourage innovation and healthy competition amongst CRSs.
The CRSs played a major role in communication during Covid-19 pandemic.
As on date, there are 327 community radio stations in operation in India across various states.
