From Aug 21, city to get first radio station run by senior citizens

From Aug 21, city to get first radio station run by senior citizens

Komal Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:3.8.2021 

The city’s first online community radio station for the elderly is set to be launched on August 21, World Senior Citizens Day. Annai Anbalaya Trust, which is launching the station, to be run by senior citizens, on its premises on TTK Road is modelling it on a similar facility begun in Coimbatore.

It will be among the 10 community radio stations approved by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment and to be implemented by New Delhi-based National Institute of Social Defence. A letter communication has been received and the financial aspects yet to be discussed.

There will be least four programmes every week, in the form of podcasts, aimed at creating awareness about science and technology and health related issues. There will be cultural programmes as well. The senior citizens will be provided with laptops, microphones and trained in editing software.

N K Rajamani, committee member of Vigyan Prasar living in Chennai, said he conducted research in a few old age homes in the city. “There is a lot of talent in these homes. Of the nearly 50 orphaned women in the home at TTK Road, many sing well and a few have immense knowledge about several current topics,” he said. Another such radio will be set up in Athipattu, on Chennai’s outskirts, later.

B Sreedhar Ramamurthy, the brain behind the country’s first community radio station at Anna University in 2004, said, “We have been allocated —24 lakh to produce 624 podcasts by senior citizens from seven locations this year. These programmes will be exclusively for senior citizens and we will use existing community radio stations at Alagappa University in Karaikudi, Tapovan in Coimbatore, MV EC in Puducherry, Aashiana senior society in Bhiwadi, Radio Sarathi Jhalak in Bengaluru and two in New Delhi at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication to produce them,” he said. The government should set up one such station in each old age home as the cost is minimal —about ₹3,600 per month to use Iradiolive.com, a national podcasting portal run by an NGO.

Rajamani said, “If this pilot at TTK Road becomes successful, we will try to implement it across all 50 senior citizen homes in Chennai with the help of the state government.”