MUMBAi: The I&B ministry has cleared the way for two new community radio stations to start operating in south India.

The  People Association of Rural Development (PARD) will soon launch its community radio at Pudupatty in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas. Community Radio Station at Wayanad Social Service Society, Mananthvady, Kerala is the other community radio to start its transmission shortly 

PARD had applied for a CR license in March 2007 and it received the Letter of Intent from I&B ministry in May 2008. It will start the transmission by August or the first week of September 2009.

The Community Radio Service in Mananthvady, named as �Community Radio Mattoli' has received its The Letter of Intent after recommendations of Inter Ministerial Committee and seeking requisite clearances from various Ministries. The radio station will hit the airwaves within three months.

CR â€?Mattoli' aims at the socio economic empowerment of tribals, women, small and marginal farmers in the area of operation through sustainable development means, and to promote self reliance through empowerment of the target group 

Pard community radio Station Manager James Rajasekaran says, The radio will air content educating the rural community on issues such as health, social awareness, and agriculture. The target audience of the station is rural people, specially women and labourers. Hence, it will promote functional education, legal education and cultural development of the villages and women's empowerment....

Pudupatty in Madurai will be the operating station for PARD and the coverage area will include Tirumanagalam, Kallupatti, Kalibendu and Peraiyur. The station aims to reach 50 villages in these blocks 

Samples of 708 houses were taken and our staff members went door to door to collect to the data,... says Rajasekaran. It was noted that out of 708 respondents, 83.05 per cent of the population did not receive any newspaper. 61 per cent of the respondents believe that radio can help them solve the major problems they are facing. 66.7 per cent radio owners tuned to FM Channels, says James.

This pointed to the dire need for a Community Radio which employs local language and dialect to attract a new generation of listeners if a Radio revival is to be achieved. Besides the language and content, people feel that if they have the ownership of media, the possibility of the radio revival will increase enormously, he says.

CEMCA provided the Pard community radio with the initial training.

The radio will broadcast its shows for four hours initially in all likely from 3 pm to 7 pm, though we have the permission for 24 hours broadcast,... says Rajasekaran.