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From: jagdish@igc.org
Newsgroups: reg.sasia
Subject: Greens Launch A Community Radio Sta
Message-ID: <c9cae5a0&199808110315.XAA01047@z>
Date: 10 Aug 1998 20:16:02
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Date sent:              Mon, 10 Aug 1998 02:10:09 +0530 (GMT+5:30)
From:
"<THIRD WORLD NETWORK FEATURES>" <oibs@bom2.vsnl.net.in>
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MEDIA
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        GREENS lAUNCH A COMMUNITY RADIO STATION FOR NEPAL

Tiny landlocked Nepal, the Himalayan country that is home to some
of the world's highest peaks, is showing the way to South Asia by
going right ahead and setting up its first community radio
station.

By a TWN Team

Tiny landlocked Nepal, the Himalayan country that is home to some
of the world's highest peaks, is showing the way to South Asia by
going right ahead and setting up its first community radio
station.

Official restrictions have not wet-blanketed the arrival of
"Radio Sagarmatha", the first non-official, community-run FM
station in the country. It was set up some months back. Each
morning at seven, this station already fills the airwaves of
capital Kathmandu with the sound of long forgotten Nepali folk
music mixed with "development messages".

Sagarmatha -- literally meaning the forehead of the ocean -- is
the Nepali name for Mount Everest, the mightiest peak in the
world standing 8,848 meters tall.

The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ), the lead
organisation implementing this project, has a plan to develop the
Kathmandu station of Radio Sagarmatha as a prototype and a
training and resources centre.

"Our long term objective is to encourage dozens or more of small
stations throughout the Himalayan country," NEFEJ executive
director Om Khadka said.

But Radio Sagarmatha launched its own test transmissions early
June only after a herculean effort to get the green signal and a
license from the government.

Over a dozen other applications are believed to be pending with
the ministry of communication and information, in this Himalayan
kingdom which geographically forms a sort of wedge between India
and China. But, analysts in Kathmandu feel, it is unlikely that
there will be more private radio stations going on the air
shortly.

For the present though, Nepal has only, two FM stations both
operating from Kathmandu. Radio Sagarmatha's 500 watts
transmitter has just joined the government-run FM Kathmandu. It
covers the Kathmandu valley, an area of around four hundred sq.
km.

Radio Sagarmatha is an unusual experiment in other ways too. Some
of the country's best-known media organisations -- including the
Nepal Forum for Environmental Journalists or NEFEJ, the Nepal
Press Institute, publishers of an upcoming South Asian magazine,
Himal Association and Worldview Nepal have taken a lead in
getting this project going.

Radio Sagarmatha began its test runs in June. It is expected to
begin full-fledged programs shortly. Most would contain "info-
tainment" and "edu-tainment". This mix of information,
entertainment and education is needed to draw audiences and yet
keep within its mandate. Only one-quarter or so of the programmes
are slated to be of an entertainment nature.

UNESCO, the United Nation's Cultural, Educational and Scientific
Organisation donated US$60,000 worth of equipment for setting up
a recording-cure-air studio in Kathmandu, for transmitters and
some studio equipments.

Like its South Asian neighbours, Nepal has been slow in loosening
bureaucratic control over the airwaves. "Nepal's government has
shown reluctance even in reviewing the applications, let alone
the granting of licenses," says NEFEJ's Khadka.

"Those in governance in Nepal were, and are, so reluctant in
adopting any new approach that they hesitate in going forward.
This was the main cause for Radio Sagarmatha taking five years in
taking off," said Khadka.

He added: "Though we have democratic rule in Nepal, governments
of either rightists or leftists have been reluctant to free the
communication medium in the country." In 1990, following pro-
democracy demonstrations, Nepal's King Birendra proclaimed a
constitution which relinquished his absolute powers, and brought
in a multi-party system.

Under the terms of its own license, Radio Sagarmatha is
restricted to only two hours of airing programmes daily. In
addition, the radio is required to hook-up for news from the
national radio broadcast of Radio Nepal. Entertainment programmes
are restricted to one-quarter of total air time. Each week's
programme menu needs to be submitted to the government for
review.

"The license contains a number of things that are even against
the norm of existing laws, and most of these are impractical,"
say those manning the new station. There are hints that the
promoters of this venture might opt for a legal battle to get
more breathing space for their operations.

Still, this station's promoters want its approach to be
different. Its promoters say priority will be given to health
education, family planning, Nepal's indigenous cultures and
environmental awareness.

Environmental problems have been a concern in Nepal for quite
some time. Some two-thirds of the country's rural population live
in mountains and plateaus with only 30% of Nepal's arable land.

This demographic weight has caused erosion and deforestation to
reach alarming proportions. Low productivity, unemployment and
poverty are some of the concerns staring the country in the face.

UN development statistics say 75% of Nepalis live below the
poverty line. Average life expectancy is 55 years. One in every
10 infants dies before the age of five, and 40% of Nepali
children are undernourished.

Its backers hope that the Radio Sagarmatha experiment will boost
pluralism in the broadcast media in the South Asian region, where
the scene has largely been dominated by large, sometimes-monolith
official organisations.

"Radio has always been a potent medium of mass communication for
Nepal as two-thirds of the country is mountainous, making
accessibility difficult, and 70 percent of the population is
illiterate," comments Nepali journalist Deepak Gajurel. South
Asia as a whole has considerable growth potential for radio,
particularly since newspapers and television still play only a
weak role here. Barely 25 newspapers are read by every one
thousand persons in South Asia, who also have to share 50
televisions among them.

Station director Murari Shivakoti has been quoted saying: "Radio
Sagarmatha's network of stations is aimed to inform, educate, and
entertain the target communities with programmes that help them
understand issues better and help them make informal choices in
their everyday lives."

Government-owned Nepal Television's board directors chairman Hem
Bahadur Bista himself told local journalists: "Mass media has so
far not been used in Nepal for the development purpose. Now the
day has come to use it as a tool for development." Community
radio, point out its promoters, offers great potential for two-
way communication. This could help reduce the gap between
decision-makers and the grassroots, it is argued. Consequently,
the people would have a greater say in decisions on community
development schemes. -- Third World Network Features

                                 --ends--

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          George Lessard, Media Activist
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