AIR Orissa makes waves at Annual Akashvani awards

AIR Orissa makes waves at Annual Akashvani awards
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 19: In recognition of the outstanding contribution of the All India Radio (AIR)employees, the Annual Akashvani Awards 1999 were given away here in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari, Union Home Minister L K Advani, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley and State Home Minister Haren Pandya attended the function.

Awards were given in various categories like radio play, documentary, musical production, farm and home, family welfare and innovative programmes. Other awards were given for `Yuv Vani', Lasa Kaul Award for National Integration, chorus singing, K L Sharma Award for Best Correspondent of the Year and Award for Audience Research.

Most of the awards were bagged by the AIR stations in Orissa. Jaitley congratulated the officials from AIR Orissa and said, "It was heartening to observe that in a year when Orissa was in the news for the cyclone, the officials of AIR emerged with a splendid performance."

Jaitley lauded the AIR for its performance which met the world standards. Highlighting the contribution of radio in education, entertainment and information dissemination, Advani narrated that during one of his visits to Kerela he was shown a variety of rice which was called `Radio Rice'. When he asked the reason for this strange name, he was told that the Kerala farmers developed this variety after listening to the programmes aired by the AIR on agriculture and farming practices.

The Union Home Minister remembered his stint as the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting when AIR was the focal point of the Ministry. With AIR incorporating the latest technology like Satellite and Internet broadcasting, Advani hoped it would enable the Non-Resident Indians who used to miss AIR - which brought them the music of their homeland - to listen to their favourite songs.

Mukul Joshi of AIR Jaipur was awarded the trophy for his documentary titled `Sannato Ki Vedna' (Anguish of Silence) which was in the form of a live diary on the atrocities perpetrated by the men on women in Rajasthan.

The K L Sharma Award for Best Correspondent of the Year was given to Sarita Barara from AIR, New Delhi who covered Operation Vijay in Kargil and the Orissa cyclone, the two major crisis faced by the country in 1999. The Lasa Kaul Award for National Integration was awarded to AIR Shimla for the special documentary `Roshni Ki Ore' produced by Vijay Deepak Chhibber.

The AIR station at New Delhi bagged the first prize for the Commercial Broadcasting Service.