The Meghalaya Youth Congress has vehemently opposed the Centre’s decision to strip down the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) at Tura from a transmitting station to a programme production centre.
A delegation of the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC), led by its president Richard Marak, paid a visit to the DDK, Tura.
The MPYC delegation had a discussion with the station director regarding the move of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to strip down the DDK, Tura from a full-fledged transmitting station to a mere programme production centre.
“This is a landmark institution in the Garo Hills and has been giving exemplary service to the region since its establishment,” the MPYC said in a statement.
The erstwhile Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting established this institution only after doing their due diligence.
So, before making the move of stripping it down, the Union ministry “should also show the same diligence”, it said.
The MPYC said the ministry should understand that despite being in the same state, “Garo Hills is a separate entity altogether with different language, culture, etc.”
With the shifting of the transmission centre, the people of Garo Hills will not be losing just an institution but will also lose representation, not only of the Garos but also of all the other under-represented tribes, indigenous to the region, it said.
The people of Garo Hills will also be losing the opportunities that the diverse talent of the region got to showcase through this platform.
“The people of Garo Hills will also be losing out on the job opportunities arising out of such an institution being present here,” MPYC said.
Instead of stripping down this institution, the MPYC suggested that the centre be upgraded with provision of satellite uplinking facilities, increasing the staff strength and modernization of the existing equipment, some of which have become obsolete.
“We will take this up at all levels and also urge the people of Garo Hills to not let this institution of significance be taken away,” it added.
Meghalaya Youth Congress also requested the representatives of the region across party lines to work towards keeping the Doordarshan centre at Tura and push for its upgradation.
“It has been the trend of the present government at the Centre to disinvest in public sector undertakings and then selling it off to their capitalist masters,” MPYC alleged.
“They first create a negative narrative wherein the PSU is seen as a white elephant, then they disinvest and then they sell it off to their capitalist masters at a throwaway price,” it added.