MUMBAI: The festival of lights is back and so are the sounds of bursting crackers that might turn you deaf for a few seconds. If you are having a hard time dealing with the noise pollution, this Diwali you can tune into your favourite radio station instead. Most stations have planned something special this festive season for their enthusiastic listeners.

Nobody stays alone during Diwali, and that is one ground rule that most Indian families follow. Unfortunately, professional demands result in many people spending the festival alone. Thus, OYE FM has planned something special for those who are away from home. OYE integrated with Rajshri Productions’ ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ to create a special program ‘Parivaar Ratan Dhan Payo’, through which OYE will provide those alone this Diwali with a host family. They simply need to call OYE, and the station will connect them with a family that is open to welcoming them into their home. The activity is being promoted by Bollywood actor- Salman Khan.

Radio Mirchi has also done something similar with ‘Free Ki Family’. The station ran a contest for people staying away from home, connecting them with a family for the day. Three people won this contest; a Gujrati girl from Surat who is in Mumbai for her studies and working part time; a South Indian girl from Raipur who is working part time as a compliance officer at Mumbai DF at the international airport, and a Muslim couple with a three month old baby. Living true to their promise, Mirchi has got each of the winners a grandfather, father, mother and younger sister, all of whom are theatrical artists, to play their families for a day.

Speaking on the initiative, Radio Mirchi national marketing head G G Jayanta said, “We believe that during the festive season, everyone should be with their family. To give someone happiness, it only spreads positive vibes and that is why we have always said – ‘Mirchi sunne waale always khush.’”

Meanwhile, Red FM not only wants to make people happy on this festive occasion, but wants to make it environmental-friendly. The radio network has come up with a quirky campaign this Diwali - ‘Bum pe Laat’. The idea is to ‘kick away crackers’, and the campaign is being aired in Delhi and Mumbai. Under the same, Red FM is appealing citizens to take a pledge against burning firecrackers and to opt for an environment-friendly Diwali.

As part of the campaign Red FM RJs are encouraging citizens to pledge towards the initiative, and lucky winners who take the pledge on-air could win Rs 1000 every hour. The initiative will not end here. RJs will also turn up at homes, offices and other locations, based on leads from other listeners, to catch hold of those planning to burst crackers in a big way. These people will get a special message from eunuchs on the hazards of burning firecrackers. Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Sonam Kapoor have supported the initiative.

Additionally, as part of the campaign, Red FM will turn to Green FM for a period of three days during the festival, and will execute a massive tree plantation drive in collaboration with the MCD and Green Yatra in Mumbai with a promise- 'Har Minute Hara Minute, which is aimed at planting a tree every single minute. Locations like Roshnara Bagh, Azmal Khan Park and Ramlila, among others in Delhi, will be included in the plantation drive. Famous Bollywood singers and musicians- Daler Mehendi, Indeep Bakshi, Ashok Mastie will be a part of this initiative.

Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan said, “As a brand we often take up city specific topical issues in a fun and quirky manner to generate awareness. ‘Bum pe Laat’ talks about a serious issue of air pollution during Diwali in a fun and irreverent manner. As we know Delhi is the most polluted city in the world and we aim to motivate our listeners to become conscious about the environment and encourage them not to use firecrackers during festivals, and to spend more time with their loved ones and make creative rangolis with diya and flowers. The conscious effort by the Delhiites over the past few years in reducing the menace of firecrackers is commendable however still a lot of effort and reiteration is needed in this regard and hence in Red FM we feel this is a very relevant messaging during Diwali.’’

For Diwali this year, Fever FM will make it a special festive season for its listeners by giving away Diwali gifts. However, they can only get these gifts if they have some sort of relation to the number ‘104’. The concept, titled ‘Life Mein 104’, will require callers to have some relation to that particular number. For instance, bikes, cars, flats or anything else with the number, could win a gift from Fever FM.

On the other hand, BIG FM is trying its best to support a four-year-old rape victim during Diwali. The station is collecting funds for her medical treatment and education. The Quint, and the crowdfunding platform- BitGiving, have collaborated to bring in funds for the girl, who has been nicknamed ‘Choti Nirbhaya’. BIG FM is the radio partner for this initiative and as of now, the station has managed to collect over two lakhs, but they are aiming for five lakhs until the end of Diwali.