CLP leader's missive to Javadekar against move to close AIR in Dibrugarh

Closure of Dibrugarh AIR & Doordarshan Kendra

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia has appealed to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to take immediate steps to prevent closure or even enervation of the AIR (All Indian Radio) Station and Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh.

In his letter to Javadekar, Saikia highlighted that the Information & Broadcasting Ministry is well on the way to shutting down both the Dibrugarh-based Doordarshan Kendra as well as the AIR Station, which are icons of the socio-cultural arena of Assam at large and Upper Assam in particular.

He underlined that the AIR Station, Dibrugarh, has been providing information and entertainment to both urban and rural folk of Assam for over half a century. It has been the medium where numerous famed singers, dramatists, actors etc of Assam honed their craft and showcased their talent, Saikia stressed.

"It is a cherished institution for successive generations of Assam. It is a source of attraction for farmers, housewives, youths, senior citizens, daily-wage earners et al, particularly the smaller ethnic communities of the Northeast region. Similarly, the Doordarshan Kendra at Dibrugarh has also been serving the local people for almost 30 years," Saikia opined.

Further, the leader blamed the NDA government at the Centre for following a policy of 'destroying' existing institutions which are dear to the public, whereas the Government should be actually duty-bound to improve them and even establish new institutions for the public weal.

"The people of Upper Assam in particular are justifiably outraged at the action of the I&B Ministry and democratic protests are taking place in various areas. The BJP has been persistently promising to protect the interests of the people of Assam. However, the stark reality is that the BJP-led Central and State governments have systematically eroded the very foundations of our socio-cultural and socio-economic lives," lamented Saikia.

This fact is manifest in the policy of weakening environment protection laws, the policy of unjustified privatization of profitable public assets, the policy of communal polarization and the cynical policy of flouting the Assam Accord by means of the contentious CAA.

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