Mangalore: Radio Sarang 107.8FM Wins National Award

Media Release

Mangalore, Feb 18: Community Radio Sarang 107.8FM won the Second Best Programme Award for Promoting Local Culture, at the First National Awards for Community Radios, in New Delhi.

The awards are instituted by the union ministry of information and broadcasting. This is the first time that the ministry has instituted the awards to recognize and promote best practices of community radios across the country.

The National Community Radio Awards were given at the inauguration of the three-day Second National Community Radio Sammelan being held in New Delhi from Saturday February 18 to Monday February 20. Dr S Jagatrakshakan, minister of state for information and broadcasting handed over the awards. He also inaugurated the exhibition on Community Radios.

The competition included five categories - best programmes in promoting local culture, adapting creative and innovative content practices, sustainability model, thematic programme, and community engagement sections. Among the 130 community radio stations that are currently in operation in India, Community Radio Sarang 107.8FM secured the award for the best programme in promoting local culture for its programme in Beary language. The programme “Beary Harate” is a chat show of Beary women of Mangalore in which local women discuss HIV/AIDS, its causes and discuss people's role in preventing the disease.

Beary language is spoken by a small group of local Muslims in Mangalore, specially in Ullal, Thokkottu, and around. The award applauds Radio Sarang’s efforts in promoting local language, with thematic thrust.

Community Radio Sarang 107.8FM was launched in 2009 September by St Aloysius College, as part of its social outreach activity. It started broadcasting two hours a day, and gradually increased its broadcast. Currently Sarang 107.8FM broadcasts 24 hours a day, and is India’s only 24-hour Community Radio. Its programmes include health and hygiene, legal awareness programmes, promoting Konkani, Tulu, Beary, and Kannada folk songs and other elements. The radio broadcasts yakshagana, 'harikatha' in Tulu and Kannada, Vovyo, Vers, baal-githam, huminyo, etc in Konkani, agricultural programmes, and other community-oriented theme-based programmes.

In May, Radio Sarang, under the guidance of its founder-director Fr Richard Rego, conducted a day-long RJ training for local women. In December, it also held a week-long capacity building workshop for local women on producing health content for radio. Twenty-five women participated in the workshop.