MUMBAI: Cyclone Phailin came and went but it is time for the people affected in the region to pick up all the shattered pieces and get back to their normal lives. That is what exactly community radio in this cyclone affected area is doing. These stations not only have to re-establishing themselves but also carry on their mission of serving society.

Konark-based Radio Namaskar had planned 24 hour live programming for three days starting from 10-12 October. But this plan was disrupted the third day, when the cyclone hit the region and damaged the tower. Speaking with Radioandmusic.com, Community Radio Association (CRA) vice-president and Radio Namaskar chairperson NA Shah Ansari said, “The life is getting back to normal. The tower was damaged as it was uprooted but we have been able to establish the tower back in a working condition.” Radio Namaskar plans to start broadcasting from 7 am in the morning on 16 October.

The tower was under warranty so the station did not have to bear the cost of the damage. Highlighting the damage, he said, “The damage was a major one so it took two days to get the station in a working condition.” In Konark, there was no loss of lives but the property and crops were damaged.

However, Jagatsinghpur-based Radio Sanskar has a different story to tell as this station was taken under the collector of the district to broadcast emergency messages. Secretary of the parent organisation of Radio Sanskar Manoj Das said, “The collector had no means to spread the message and they had to save many lives so taking our community radio station under them was the only means to spread information. All forms of communication were disrupted as electricity failed in the region and radio was the only medium.” However, there was disruption in this region.

Ansari stressed that the CRA hope to present the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with some pointer for community radio station in coastal regions of India. “We want them to understand the trouble faced in the coastal region as this region is more prone to such disasters. We would request them to provide community radio with cyclone shelter. There will be a huge debate about the same soon,” concluded Ansari.