Assam: Debabrata Saikia urges I&B Ministry to take steps on the closure of AIR and Doordarshan

GUWAHATI: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has written a letter to the Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar drawing attention towards the shutdown of the Dibrugarh-based Doordarshan Kendra as well as the All India Radio (AIR) Station by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. 

In his letter Saikia mentioned that the Ministry is its way to shutting down both the Dibrugarh-based Doordarshan Kendra as well as the All India Radio (AIR) Station, which are icons of the socio-cultural arena of Assam at large and Upper Assam in particular. 

The leader wrote, “The AIR Station, Dibrugarh, has been providing information and entertainment to both urban and rural folk of Assam for over half a century. It has been the medium where numerous famed singers, dramatists, actors etc of Assam honed their craft and showcased their talent. It is a cherished institution for successive generations of Assam. It is a source of attraction for farmers, housewives, youths, senior citizens, daily-wage earners et al, particularly the smaller ethnic communities of the Northeast region. Similarly, the Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh has also been serving the local people for almost 30 years.” 

“It is most reprehensible that the NDA Government at the Centre is following a policy of destroying existing institutions which are dear to the public, whereas the Government should be actually duty-bound to improve them and even establish new institutions for the public weal. The people of Upper Assam in particular are justifiably outraged at the action of the I&B Ministry and democratic protests are taking place in various areas even as I write to you,” he further added. 

Saikia mentioned that the ruling BJP has been persistently promising to protect the interests of the people of Assam. However, the stark reality is that the BJP-led Central and state Governments have systematically eroded the very foundations of our socio-cultural and socio-economic lives. This fact is manifest in the policy of weakening environment protection laws, the policy of unjustified privatization of profitable public assets, the policy of communal polarization and the cynical policy of flouting the Assam Accord by means of the contentious CAA. 

Debabrata Saikia urged the minister to take immediate steps to prevent closure or even enervation of the AIR Station and Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh. 

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