KOCHI: For a city that struggles every day with traffic snarl-ups, any solution is better than none. As the authorities remain clueless, Kochiites themselves are trying to find a solution. Recently, after coming to hear about Kochi Metro’s decision to apply for an FM radio station, a group of citizens met KMRL managing director Loknath Behera. Instead of FM, why not go for community radio? Kerala presently has 14 community radio stations and Ernakulam has only one, run by St Teresa’s College.
“We told the KMRL MD that it is more suitable than going for an FM station. Not only is it tough to get approval for an FM station but also the cost of installation is very high. Besides, being commercial, it never serves the purpose,” said Ebenser Chullikkatt, an advocate and administrator of the Kochi Metro Passengers’ Forum. “However, the MD said Kochi Metro was not planning a community radio since its reach was very less. But when the FM station gets sanctioned, one of the programmes will be traffic updates.”
According to him, they discussed the positive aspects of starting a community radio service. “An important one is solving the traffic snarls in the city,” he said. Community radio is used the world over to reach out to the community by providing them with various important pieces of information, he added.
“As for getting a sanction for an FM radio station, there is a limitation,” he said. “As such, Kochi has four stations and the Central government has placed limitations on the number in a particular area. However, this is not the case for community radio stations. The cost comes to only around `1 lakh.” According to him, though community radios have a short transmission radius (15km), with the help of a mobile application, they can be downloaded and used anywhere.
“I have been listening to Radio Kochi 90 FM, a station launched and run by St Teresa’s College,” he added. If the authorities launch such a station, they would be able to provide real-time information regarding traffic in the city, besides other information useful for the public, he said. “This will go a long way in easing traffic congestion,” Ebenser added.
Dr Latha Nair, in charge of Radio Kochi 90 FM, said, “Community radios are for the public. They are not commercial setups and hence not profit-oriented. If the public also contributes, then we will be able to take these radios to a different level. This suggestion is a very important and I will be taking it up with the authorities concerned immediately.”