Opposition Congress in Assam has urged the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcast (I&B) to revisit its earlier decision of reassigning All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Dibrugarh as relay centres and curtailing their capacity to produce own programmes.
The Congress has urged the I&B Ministry take immediate and necessary steps to prevent closure of the All India Radio (AIR) station and the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Eastern Assam district of Dibrugarh.
Leader of opposition in Assam, Debabrata Saikia has written to Union Minister for information and broadcasting (I&B), Prakash Javadekar in this regard.
In his letter, to Union I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, Debabrata Saikia stated that the people in Eastern Assam are angry over the decision of the I&B Ministry to shut down the AIR station and DDK in Dibrugarh.
“The AIR Station, Dibrugarh, has been providing information and entertainment to both urban and rural folk of Assam for over half a century. It is a cherished institution for successive generations of Assam. Similarly, the Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh has also been serving the local people for almost 30 years,” Saikia informed Javadekar in his letter.
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Saikia further slammed the NDA Government for failing to keep its promise of safeguarding the institutions, which are dear to the masses.
Debabrata said, “The stark reality is that the BJP-led Central and State Government have systematically eroded the very foundations of our socio-cultural and socio-economic lives.”
“I appeal to your sense of fair play and natural justice and request you to take immediate steps to prevent closure or even enervation of the AIR Station and Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh,” Debabrata added in his letter.
Notably, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had also earlier urged the I&B Ministry to maintain the present status of AIR and DDK Dibrugarh centres as “these centres have been instrumental in reflecting the cultural mosaic and indigenous traditions of communities in Upper Assam and even eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh.”