Tiruchi - AIR news unit celebrates 36th year of broadcasting

As of today, 17 bulletins of headline summaries are broadcast daily on FM. All India Radio, Tiruchi, one of six pioneering stations in pre-Independent India, and the second in the erstwhile Madras State after Chennai, celebrated yet another milestone on Monday, as its award-winning news unit marked its 36th year of broadcasting. Inaugurated on November 14, 1981, today the city-based unit broadcasts a 10-minute bulletin of regional news (in Tamil) at 1.45 p.m. that is relayed all over the State. Tiruchi AIR started relaying headline summaries through its Rainbow FM (Frequency Modulation) channel from 2006. As of today, 17 bulletins of headline summaries are broadcast daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on FM. It won the Best Regional News Unit Akashwani award in 2006. “We follow the principles of public service broadcasting. During the recent demonetisation initiative, for example, we have been creating awareness among our listeners to help them manage their banking issues better. Most of our listener base is from the rural areas. Besides disseminating information on government schemes, we also act as a bridge for farmers and fishing communities to air their grievances to the authorities,” K. Devi Padmanabhan, News Editor, AIR Tiruchi, told The Hindu .

AIR is looking to digitalise its services and expand its FM presence, said Mr. Padmanabhan, as the sound quality of these broadcasts is more crisp. “We will be offering more localised reportage in the coming months,” he added. Tamil translation of official Hindi and English speeches is also done at the news unit. “We have played a key role in increasing awareness among the public about their democratic right to vote in local elections. Besides this, we have also been a channel of communication in areas hit by natural disasters,” said Mr. Padmanabhan, who has served in Tiruchi from 2007. AIR Tiruchi was established on May 16, 1939 with a 5 KW medium wave transmitter from a rented premises in Williams Road, in a ceremony marked by a message from C. Rajagopalachari, the then Chief Minister of Madras State and Lionel Fielden, the first Controller of Broadcasting. The station today functions from its own building on Bharathidasan Salai, and is equipped with a 100 KW high power transmitter that caters to 10 districts – Tiruchi, Peramabalur, Ariyalur, Karur, Salem, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai.