Agartala, Sep 30: The FM craze has swept throughout Tripura as the much awaited first private radio station in Tripura, 91.9 FM, was inaugurated a month ago.
The FM, playing a wide variety of Hindi, Bengali and English music, has now become the ideal entertainment for people of all age groups in the state.
Keeping in mind the FM mania, the channel has been in named,'Radio Ooo La La', which has managed to keep all alike, from rickshaw pullers to executives, businessmen to school students, housewives to vegetable vendors, hooked as it plays popular Hindi numbers to Bengali classics and English rock.
Akhinchan Ghosh, a middle-aged electronic gadgets seller here told UNI that more than 80,000 FM radios had been sold in the city since the past month while there is an increasing demand for FM-enabled mobile phones across the state.
''The radio jockeys mostly chatter about nothing in particular, predominantly in Bengali. However, they also try to make it different from the regular stuff on the AIR,'' he said.
Rabindra Sarkar (56), a rickshaw puller said he does not pull his rickshaw the lunch hour just to have a siesta listening to his favorites tracks on the radio.
Besides, the youngsters have found it as a perfect medium to express their feelings to their loved ones. The FM also organises silent parties where the teenagers signing in to meet their perfect match.
However, Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Gourav Chakraborty said, he is having a tough time to manage the traffic as the people were driving recklessly while listening to the FM.
He said every day they had to impose fines for careless driving but the people were not bothered about the penalty.
''We are all set to achieve another milestone and revolutionise the regional entertainment market with the impending launch of the first four private FM radio stations in the NE region at Agartala, Guwahati, Shillong and Itanagar,'' Radio Ooo La La station head Sanjib Deb said.
Earlier the private FM channels were limited to the major cities, but the government's policy to gradually deregulate this growing media industry to create socio-political and financial impact had seen drastic changes in the past five years.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had embarked upon a much bigger programme to usher in FM nationwide, over 300 FM stations have been allotted in 91 cities, including NE.
''Music, chats, issue-based programmes, requests for popular songs and sports news will definitely attract millions of ears. The FM management feels that the stations will provide the region also with a much needed platform to discuss and highlight major issues,'' Mr Deb said.
UNI
