These days, the 10-km stretch from Ruby Hospital to Kamalgazi in east Kolkata tunes into a new band on radio: SRFTI 90.4 FM, the community radio station launched by the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).

The radio has a package that includes a repertoire of music, literature, theatre and issues on women and child welfare. There will soon be programmes on the technical and non-technical aspects of filmmaking, said SRFTI director Swapan Mullik.

SRFTI 90.4 FM runs on two time slots—7 to 9 in the morning and 7 to 9 in the evening—from Monday to Friday. The jingle has been composed by sarod maestro Tejendra Narayan Majumdar.

The station, a brainchild of Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi, caters to an eclectic mix—from the upscale residential complexes coming up along the SRFTI campus to fishermen and farmers, the original inhabitants of the area.

The radio station boasts of sophisticated technical equipments—including imported amplifier, CD players and mixing console—to ensure transmission quality.

Mullik said he wasn’t sure of the cost involved in the project, “The community station was long overdue and the installation of equipment was made before I could take over. The project has been on for at least for two or three years. I will have to look into records and let you know,” said Mullick. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a community radio station catering to an area of five kilometres range could cost around Rs 30 to 40 lakh.

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