AIR to launch 'Maitree' with focus on Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: In a unique initiative, public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) will launch a first-of-its-kind service called Akashvani Maitree, which can be heard both in India and Bangladesh. Mainly in Bengali, the service will provide a platform for content creation and sharing of cultural heritage between the two countries.
The service will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on June 28 with renowned Indian and Bangladeshi artistes as part of the inaugural programme.Singer Usha Uthup is expected to sing the opening song while Soumitra Chatterjee will recite and Bangladeshi artistes Rezwana Chaudhary Bannya and Shama Rahman are likely to participate in the event.
While earlier programmes of this service were produced solely by AIR, the new ‘Maitree Service’ will invite Bangladeshi artistes and personalities for participation. “There would also be Bangladesh-oriented programmes so that there is greater awareness about our neighbour and India’s views and concerns about it,’’ Jawhar Sircar, Prasar Bharati CEO said.
The channel comes following PM Narendra Modi’s initiative to strengthen ties with Dhaka. The Special Bangla Service, was the precursor to Akashvani Maitree, and was launched in the wake of the Bangladesh Liberation Movement in 1971 and played a historic role during the movement. It continued to be very popular till April 2010, when it was discontinued due to decommissioning of the super power transmitter at Chinsurah in West Bengal.