Radio station plays Good Samaritan in upper Assam

A community radio station team based in Dibrugarh district is reaching out to flood-hit people in areas where government officials are finding it impossible to go. Radio Brahmaputra is helping close to four lakh people in Dibrugarh, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts. It is reaching out to them through its daylong flood bulletin, information dissemination, weather broadcast, updates on floods, broadcasting plans by the disaster management authority to victims, information about relief camps and live interaction with flood victims. With over 15 lakh people affected by floods in the state, a nine-member team from Radio Brahmaputra began special programmes three days ago.

The community radio station, with 40% reach in Dhemaji district alone and 2.5 lakh listeners in Dibrugarh district, broadcasts both its regular and flood-related programme content in five different languages. "Our reporters based in the affected places are reaching out to people. Since Monday, we have initiated a special one-hour flood bulletin throughout the day. Besides, there is continuous dissemination of information from government web portals to the flood-hit," said Bhaskar Bhuyan, station coordinator. With most radio listeners living in rural pockets, the feasibility of radio becomes more important during floods.