Citizens get a platform on city’s first community radio

The city’s first community radio station, Jago Mumbai, owned and run by a group of citizens, went on air this week.

The city’s first community radio station, Jago Mumbai, owned and run by a group of citizens, went on air this week.

HT Image

Started by Union Park Residents’ Association for those who live in Bandra (W), Khar, and Santa Cruz (W), it will air on 90.8 FM between 8 am to noon every day, offering a mix of information, entertainment and discussions.

“We want to tell people that they themselves have to be the agents of change,” said Bharati Kakkad, 51, secretary of the Association. “They have a place where they can be heard.”

Jago Mumbai has become one of just 15 community radio stations in India that are changing lives by providing a platform for local concerns, often ignored by mainstream media.

So far, Mumbai had a campus community radio station, Must Radio, based in Mumbai University’s Kalina campus, which can be heard from Mahim to Jogeshwari at 107.8 FM.

Jago Mumbai will be run by volunteers — students, professionals, senior citizens and homemakers. Local musicians have given the station the rights to play their music, Kakkad said. “The response has been heartening,” she said.

NGOs and civil society organisations that have been active for at least three years can apply to the I&B ministry for a community radio licence. They must raise funds through donations or grants.

On her show ‘Right Sight’ on Jago Mumbai, Parinaaz Mubaraki, 24, who is visually challenged, helps sighted people learn how to help a blind person. “To begin with, in reply to a question, they should not just point or nod,” she said.

(Watch out for our special page this Sunday on how community radio is changing lives and how you can start one.)