Gulf Daily News

Bahrain - Nov. 09: THE first Indian radio channel in Bahrain, Voice FM 104.2, is to be formally launched at 6.30pm today.

It will start with a live interactive show by broadcaster R Sreekandan Nair, who has been a popular presenter of the Nammal Thammil show on Asianet for 13 years.

People who listen to the Voice FM between 6.30pm and 12.30am will also become eligible for a cash prize of Rs100,000 (about BD850).

Those who want to take part should SMS their mobile number with their name, said Strategic Publicity and Advertising Company chairman P Unnikrishnan.

"We shall ask a question every hour from 6.30pm and those who give the right answer will be rewarded.

"For SMS, the numbers are 93113 for Batelco and 7214 for MTC Vodafone."

Mr Nair, who is in Bahrain to launch the station, said Voice FM would be a true Indian radio and would be different from similar channels in other Gulf countries.

"We shall devote time for different Indian languages, including Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil," he told the GDN.

"The programmes will include music, health and comedy shows, as well as news updates and interviews with community leaders in Bahrain.

"Some of the experienced radio stars from Kerala will join our team, which will also include a few Bahrain-based artistes," said Mr Unnikrishnan.

"Eighty per cent of the programmes will be telecast live.

"This is the first time a private radio channel is being established in Bahrain."

It has been a long cherished dream of the Indian community, especially those from Kerala who form the largest expatriate group, to have a radio channel in their language, said Mr Unnikrishnan.

"We are grateful to Bahrain's leadership in general and the Information Ministry in particular for granting us a licence to operate a private channel for our community," he added.