A BRIEF  HISTORY ON THE TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ALL INDIA RADIO, IMPHAL

All India Radio, Imphal started radiating its programme from 15th August 1963 through a low power P-50 MW Transmitter and thus included in the map of ALL INDIA RADIO. Studio was equipped with a limited facility of essential equipments and there were only 1 Playback Studio and 2 Multipurpose Studios. Out of these 2 Multipurpose Studios, 1 No. was installed at the office complex near 1st Manipur Rifles and the other at the Studio near Raj Bhavan. Later on the Transmitter has been upgraded to 1kW MW. It can cover entire town area and some portion of Imphal Valley. All these installations were done at the hired buildings of State Government. On 2nd November 1971, a 50 kW MW High power Transmitter installed at Mayang Imphal after acquiring land from State Government was commissioned for better large area coverage. The Studio facility has been enhanced after commissioning the existing Type III Studio on 2nd October 1980. It consists of a Drama Studio, a Music Studio, a Talk Studio, a Playback Studio and Dubbing Room. 1 kW MW Transmitter has been shifted from the old hired building campus to Studio premises at Palace Compound. Provision for downloading through Radio Network Terminal has been made at studio site. With this we can perceive better reception from Delhi etc. and hence can produce better quality relay programme. 2 Nos of 100 Watts FM Transmitter are installed at Control Room. These transmitters are used for Studio-Transmitter link i.e. linking between Studio and High Power Transmitter. For communication purposes Meltron RT-43S are used. Even though the Transmitter power has been raised to 50kW MW but being MW Transmitter, it could not cover the entire terrain areas. The old 1kW Transmitter is now used only when the 50 kW MW Transmitter fails due to normal power supply failure etc. The coverage area has been increased with the reinforcement land commissioning of 50 kW Short Wave Transmitter on 20th February 1996. With the Short Wave Transmitter, it not only covers the entire Manipur but also to neighboring states as well as some foreign countries as acknowledged to us. Here at studio site, a 10kW FM Transmitter has been installed in June 2002. The input for this Transmitter can be in the form of either analog or digital signal. It can be operated in stereo/mono mode as desired. Now-a-days this 10kW FM Transmitter is running on test transmission since November 2002. 1 No. Stereo Studio has also been installed. The old BEL consoles are replaced with GCEL (ER&DC) consoles. Facility for stereo recording has been provided in Music Studio. In Stereo and Talk Studio, Phone-in consoles are provided for interacting with the public through telephone. Computerized Hard disk data base recording system has been installed in all the studios. This system has got 32 tracks and main servers are installed in Control Room. A networking for the entire system has been made. With the system better recording and output qualities can be obtained. Computerized news track facility has been installed in news room. 1 No. Phone-in console has been provided absolutely for news section in their room for interacting with the public through telephone. A C-band networking digital system has also been installed. A new 300 kW MW Transmitter has been installed at transmitter complex, Mayang Imphal. The new High power transmitter has been installed on 17th November 2002. The installation of a 125 KVA Diesel Generator at High Power Transmitter, Mayang Imphal is also completed. In addition to this, the project for Captive Earth Station has been completed and commissioned on 31st March 2003. Our programme can be uplinked through this Earth Station.

Thus, All India Radio, Imphal has been upgraded from the old 15th August 1963 to the present modernized system of technology with the vision of the Senior Officers and tireless effort of the entire staff.

Khuraijam Guneswar Singh, A.E.

AIR IMPHAL AND REGIONAL NEWS UNIT

M. Lalgopal Singh

Retd. Selection Grade News Reader

Imphal Station of All India Radio which came into being on 15 August 1963 has completed 40 years of its existence. It is a matter of gratification indeed for us all in the state when we evaluate good service it has rendered to Manipur and the Manipuris since its inception by putting out a variety of value-based listener friendly programmes of interests in the fields of education, culture, information and entertainment etc. Besides, the broadcasting service here has also been a help to the state govt. in disseminating and reaching out to people its policies and programmes meant for their all round development both in the hills and valleys.

Despite many hurdles on its way to people’s service, All India Radio, Imphal does enjoy a big broadcasting Station’s reputation and compares well even with big sister Stations like the AIR Kolkata in matters of its variety and richness of programme content. This is the most impartial opinion of many responsible AIR Officials posted here from the country’s different regions. Credit for this qualified comments would naturally go to rich cultural heritage of the people of Manipur, a people in whom artistic leanings too is inherent.

However, AIR Imphal, in spite of its praise worthy service still could not be called a full-fledged broadcasting station as it lacked a very important paraphernalia e.g. Regional News Units, soul of the organization. Thanks to the first team of officials who ceaselessly worked for it. It was their initiatives and the I&B ministry’s quick realization of local interests that quickened the process of setting up of today’s wholesome AIR Imphal News Unit, with its inaugural bulletin going on the air of the first time on 22 March 1964 to the delight of the listening community of the culture rich tiny State called Manipur, the land of gems, inhabited by 29 tribes and other communities.

With a big chunk on 15 min duration regional news bulletin in Manipuri, AIR Imphal, continues to occupy a unique position in all the news casts in the country conducted and controlled by the News Services Division of All India Radio. No sister stations in the region perhaps enjoy this privilege.

Mr. Satyanarayain Sinha, the then Minister for Information and Broadcasting once proudly cited AIR Imphal’s 15 min-duration Manipuri bulletin as a example of his ministry’s priorities of news casts given to those area where the flow on information was not smooth either due to communication bottle neck or topographic feature. The late honorable minister expressed this view while speaking at an AIR Station Directors’ conference in Srinagar in 1964. The Minister’s stress on the matter was that Manipur did deserve a long-duration news bulletin of the kind in view of the people’s yearning for global news and views as the print media in the state at that time did not satisfy their curiosity for latest information. Reasons are many. Our thanks are due to those who correctly felt the pulse of the people and made their dream a reality.

Then came in 1964 the opportune moment for news hungry Imphallars when the  proposed establishment of the Regional News Unit of Imphal Station was given effect to starting it with a skeleton staff one Assistant News Editor, a Sub-Editor (whose parent Department was Publicity, Govt. of Manipur), casual news readers on weekly/monthly contract basis) and a typist.

Indeed, respected the late Assistant News Editor, R. Constantine, the first news editor posted here to help nurse the birth of AIR Imphal’s Regional News unit shall continue to live in our sweet memory with due respect. He was a radio journalist of national repute. His contribution in the healthy growth of the then infant unit had really been remarkable. Truly speaking his rich experience in the radio journalism benefited us all. “Manipur, Maid of the Mountains”, a novel authored by this late gentleman from Kerala, clearly show his love, respect and praise for the culturally rich Manipuris and their picturesque land.

Inconveniences experienced by the news staff in regard to news bulletin translation into Manipuri from Regional News Unit bulletin begin going on the air were huge and manifold. Difficulties always were there while trying to find Manipuri Synonyms for English words mainly in relation to scientific, economic, technical terminologies occurring almost daily in the Delhi broadcast Central English bulletins on which the local bulletins were almost 90 percent dependent. News reader translators doing translating work from English bulletins into Manipuri necessarily had to depend on Sanskrit, Hindi, sometimes even Bengali when they did not fins equivalent, appropriate words in Manipuri vocabulary. Words, we coined in good faith to feel the, local bulletins rather amounted to inviting, many a time highest criticism, then came a good Suggestion when it was decided that the Regional News unit (RNU) should maintain a ‘Lexicon’ of its own containing words and lavishes we coined for smooth functioning of the unit and for minimizing public displeasure…

ALL INDIA RADIO, IMPHAL

The idea was mooted by Maibam Haricharan Singh the late respected editor who sincerely worked for the people. He really took the pains for and his purpose.

My respectful homage does go to this departed Soul, a Sincere responsible does go to this departed Soul, a Sincere responsible Officer who with his vast knowledge of things and practical experience successfully steered RNU for its further advancement.

My respectful regards also are due to those capable officials posted here and whose rich contribution really laid the strong foundation of today’s a very healthy Regional News Unit of AIR, Imphal.

Our respectful regards also are due to those capable officials posted here and whose rich contribution really laid the strong foundation of today’s a very healthy Regional News Unit, of AIR Imphal.

Initially only one bulletin of 15 min duration used to be broadcast every day at 7.30 p.m. But with demand on the increase for more Manipuri News bulletins by the people, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was generous enough to accord sanction for another 5 min bulletin being broadcast at 7.30 a.m.

The New Unit’s work load among others included transcription of Central English bulletins, translation of 5 min duration, weekly 15 min regional news reel broadcast on Sundays, Interview with people from different walks of life, local, national and foreign VIP and VVIPS, O.B. recording, social and culture functions and other matter of regional, national and international important etc. did from the material for Regional New reel.

As everyone is aware, diplomatic and political climate after 1962 Chinese aggression was never good in the New Delhi Peking (now Beijing) relations. The NEFA debacle was an open transgression of a sanctity. It is a fact, the 1962 was on India’s northern border actually marked the end of all political morality worth the name envisaged in the Panch sheel, a treaty concluded in 1954 between India and China holding out a solemn promise for mutual respects. In the bitterness of the relations, the famous slogan “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” once used to be emotionally loud now became deadened and silenced forever. Now China becomes branded with an epithet ‘Enemy No. 1’.

Whatever it is, the very unpalatable situation did reflect in our day-to-day work and the staff looking after the programme had to bear the brunt. A spotlight programme captioned ‘Bharat Amasung Chinglai’ had to be broadcast daily as policy matter of the national Govt. The programme was never an easy one. Because of jamming (by interested party) the reception of the Delhi broadcast of the English version India and the Dragon in the spotlight programme was so poor that it could not be transcribed that easily. Thank God, experienced hands and dozen of the Manipuri journalists like the respectable, the Late R.K. Maipaksana Singh was there on the spot to handle it with proficiency.

I remember AIR, Imphal also broadcast almost regularly news items in the from of radio news reel, weekly reviews including news in Manipuri months before the Regional News Unit officially came before the Regional News Unit officially came into existence. The late respected Maipaksana Singh was looking after the reel programme under his own chosen caption “Thoudak Pareng’ which late rechristened “Paogi Saktam’. It had been a listener-linking programme in which he was an apprentice attached to it. The author, originally a programme announcer prior to becoming a regular news reader also occasionally used to read news in Manipuri while he was performing announcer’s duty.

CONTACT DETAILS:

STATION DIRECTOR

ALL INDIA RADIO, IMPHAL

PALACE COMPOUND

IMPHAL, MANIPUR :795001

EMAIL: airimphal@yahoo.in