TURA: After the state youth Congress opposed the proposed shutting down of the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Tura, the New Tura Development Forum (NTDF) has now step forward to oppose the same, further seeking the intervention of Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar.
In its memorandum addressed to the Union minister, the forum pointed out that doing away with local transmission from DDK Tura would deprive the locals of the hard-earned developmental facility.
Pointing out that there are only two DDK centres (in Shillong and Tura) in the state, the forum said that shutting down the centre in Tura and clubbing it with the one in Shillong would deprive the large chunk of the population of viewing programmes in their own language.
“The programmes (in Garo language), transmitted from DDK Tura, are viewed and listened not only by the viewers from Tura but by the entire Garo population all over the Garo Hills region and from the adjoining areas of other states like Assam, etc. Besides Garos, the DDK promotes other tribes like Kochs, Hajongs, Manns, Rabhas, Boros, Dalus, whose ethnicities are depicted through the DDK channel. So, shutting down the DDK Tura will be unfair to the people of many communities,” the forum said, adding that people of Tura and Shillong are two major linguistic communities who deserve transmission facilities of their own.
Reminding that the DDK Tura was established long time ago during late PA Sangma’s tenure as the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1995, the forum lamented that despite its long existence, no improvements and developments have been made till date.
The forum said that instead of scaling down the centre at Tura, the DDK should instead be revamped by increasing manpower and upgrading it with powerful equipment and systems.