Hill se Dil Tak: Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh launches its 1st community radio station

Indian Army inaugurated the first community radio station “Panchshul Pulse” in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh border district

Published on: May 23, 2025, 20:06:51 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

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Pithoragarh: The Kumaon sector in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district on Friday launched its first community radio station (CRS), Panchshul Pulse, a voice of the border communities — blending weather tips, cultural hits, and village tales with a whole lot of heart.

Inaugurated by general officer commanding-in-chief of central command Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, this new 88.4 FM is an initiative by the Indian Army

Inaugurated by general officer commanding-in-chief of central command Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, this new 88.4 FM radio - it’s tagline is “Hill se Dil Tak” (from hills to the heart) - is an initiative by the Indian Army to promote local heritage, and disseminate real-time, accurate information too.

“Named after the majestic Panchshul mountain range, the station reflects the resilience and rooted identity of the border region. The initiative aligns with the Government of India’s Vibrant Villages Programme, which emphasises development, connectivity, and awareness in India’s border areas,” Lieutenant Colonel Manish Shrivastava, public relations officer, defence (Dehradun) said.

Located in the border district of Pithoragarh, Panchshul Pulse will function as a “communication bridge” between the Indian Army, civil administration, and residents of remote Himalayan villages. Broadcasting in local dialects, the station will feature diverse programming.

The programming will include discussions on local issues, development needs, and government welfare schemes, interviews with villagers, youth, veterans, women leaders, and army personnel, cultural shows featuring Kumaoni traditions, folk music, Bollywood and Hindi songs, festivals, and oral histories, awareness programmes on education, healthcare, digital literacy, disaster management, and weather alerts and fact-based information to counter misinformation and hostile narratives impacting border communities.

Lt Gen Sengupta urged the locals to actively support Panchshul Pulse and make it the “heartbeat of the border communities, uniting people and preserving their unique cultural identity.”

“It will also act as a key platform to update tourists and locals on weather and road conditions, as well as address community concerns”, he added.

“The radio station aims to create goodwill between inhabitants of border region and Indian army by focusing on history, culture, society, agriculture horticulture and other professions being taken by locals in border region besides highlighting brave soldiers, sportspersons and socio-cultural activists from the border region,” station manager of FM radio station Manish Singhal said.

“The community radio station being run by Indian army under Operation Sadbhawana, can be heard at 88.4 FM and it will cover a surrounding range of 12 km from the station,” Singhal added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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