Community Radio Station started in Maharashtra

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India had signed a Grant of Permission Agreement for establishing, maintaining and operating a Community Radio Station with Mannvikas Samajik Sanstha at Mhaswad in the state of Maharashtra. 

Regular transmission from the station has begun from 26th January 2009.

The community radio station will serve to establish an agriculture-related knowledge ICT network and knowledge delivery mechanism through community radio as an effective tool.

It will help in capacity building of the community based organizations in the use of audio tools as a means for social & economic empowerment, in addition to laying special emphasis on the themes that support the poor and marginalized members of the local community in improving social conditions & quality of their cultural life.

Mannvikas Samajik Sanstha, in Mhaswad in the Satara district in Maharashtra is a “Non-Profit” Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) established in 1994 with a vision to improve the lives of rural women and their families by the participation of the local community in the construction of roads, water tanks, housing structures and educational facilities. It also carries literacy campaigns, anti-dowry, anti-liquor, family planning and conservation of the environment campaigns.

Mann and Kahtao Tehsils of Satara are drought prone areas of Maharashtra where per capita income is lower than rest of the state. The economy of the area is predominantly agrarian with high incidence of poverty and unemployment. Nearly 40% population constitutes the SC and ST population with low sex ratio of 874. The literacy rate of Lateri and Sironj tehsil is 47.1% and 53.1% only.

The sanstha proposes to air educational, self-employment initiative, health education programmes for the population in the area through the community radio by the active participation of the community.