BJP's Member of the Parliament from Bargarh, Suresh Pujari on Wednesday sought personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in reviving the condition of decades-old Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Sambalpur which has been allegedly lying under sheer neglect.
Pujari shot a letter to the PM requesting him to personally intervene and give suitable instructions to concerned authorities to bring DDK, Sambalpur back to its rail with latest equipments to carter to the need of the people of western Odisha.
Of late, the DDK Sambalpur, because of non-patronisation and reduction of staff and its dimension has started losing its past glory and has just started surviving as a structure only, the parliamentarian stated in his plea.
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Explaining about the sordid position of the DD centre, Pujari said, the programme generating facility (PGF) studio has almost become defunct as there are no programme staff out of 15 sanctioned strength at the kendra. The sorrowful state of affairs can be well understood from the fact that the only cameraman available against two sanctioned strength was withdrawn and transferred by the Prasar Bharti, thereby putting the last nail in the coffin, Pujari explained in his letter to the PM.
The MP has requested the Prime Minister to ensure that the vacant post including two cameramen of the production unit be tilled up at the earliest and the centre be upgraded to a full-fledged DDK with ultramodern studio, DD-6 (RLSS) channel for 24x7 service and equipped with fully digitalised news van (Broadcast Van).
Earlier on Tuesday, a large congregation of notable personalities including renowned artistes from western Odisha, led by Padmashree Haldhar Nag, Padmashree Jeetendra Haripal, Padmashree Mitrabhanu Gountia and Pujari himself staged a dharna and submitted a memorandum seeking intervention of the Prime Minister in resolving the issue.
Notably, DDK, Sambalpur was commissioned in the year 1978 as the 8th DDK of the country, inaugurated by the then I&B Minister Lal Krishna Advani.
DDK, Sambalpur played a pivotal role in promoting and enriching the culture, tradition, music, dance and Sambalpuri folk and heritage of western Odisha including that the tribals of the region.