I&B asked to include more tribal dialects in AIR programmes

New Delhi, Apr 12: With an aim to widen the reach of its schemes, the Tribal Ministry has sought inclusion of more tribal dialects in All India Radio broadcasts.

A detailed plan is also being worked out to add value to the programmes in consultation with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and AIR, ministry officials said.

"We have suggested that there is a need to cover more tribal languages. The outreach of AIR in hilly areas is limited. FM Radio, which is one of the new initiatives of AIR, has a limited range even under best line-of-sight situation."

"In an uneven and forested terrain, the reach of the FM is even lower. Shortwave (SW) broadcasting is more efficient in such areas, but the availability of SW radio among tribal people has to be attended to," a senior official of the Tribal Affairs Ministry said.

The objective is to expand the ministry's reach among the tribals through effective means of communication.

"A tribal citizen won't understand any language other than his dialect. This move is aimed at ensuring that the benefits of the ministry's schemes are not cornered by few educated tribals but reach each and everyone of them," the official said.

In a recent meeting with I&B ministry officials, Tribal Ministry officials told them that the type of agriculture- based activity successful in specific tribal areas could be known only through interaction with local farmers and for this purpose, the radio station manager needs to be familiar with the local tribal dialect.

"The Ministry of MOTA has taken a number of initiatives for the well being of the tribals like 100 per cent survey on sickle cell anaemia in tribal areas, documentation of tribal herbal medicines, various educational schemes, vocational training, marketing of forest produce etc.

"There is a need to generate awareness about these programmes amongst the tribals through AIR broadcasts," the official said.

PTI