Radio Cotton City @ 90.4 FM

Contact Person: Dr. Ganesh S Borkar 

Broadcasting Language: Marathi and Hindi

Genesis: Radio 90.4 Cotton City was established in 2019, by Vidharbha Vikas Mahila va Balkalyan Shikshan Sanstha, Akola. The mission of the CRS is to empower the rural community, especially the women, as the rural community forms the backbone of the county. The CRS strongly believes that a better society can be built on only the foundation of educated and empowered youth. Radio Cotton City had a humble beginning but has grown into a strong force of influence in the target community. The CRS continues to impact the lives of the community members through its programmes and aspires to pave a path for the society to prosper. 

Thematic Focus: The primary focus areas of Radio Cotton City have been education and employment. Children need to be educated and the youth need to be guided to better career prospects and opportunities of employment to promote the growth of the society and improve its economic conditions. The CRS also focuses on areas such as women empowerment, and aims to foster a gender equal society through its different initiatives. 

Sustainable Development Goals: The SDGs that the CRS focusses on are:

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 5: Gender Equality

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Primetime Programmes:  Radio Cotton City has a large pool of programmes on a variety of subjects, and it aspires to entertain, educate and empower its target community through these programmes. The programmes are broadcast in many formats like discussions, interactive sessions, pre-recorded jingles and talks, expert talks, dramas, recitals, etc. Aarogya Dakhsataa and College Katta are two of the primetime programmes that are broadcast by the CRS. Aarogya Dakshataa is a health programme that features doctors and healthcare experts who discuss different health issues related to people of all age groups. College Katta is a programme for the youth where they can interact with experts from different fields and clarify their queries about different courses, universities, admission procedures etc. 

Innovations in format or any other way: Along with broadcasting, Radio Cotton City organises regular workshops for students and youth in the society and informs them about different opportunities. The CRS also collaborates with different educational institutions in the region for initiatives, social awareness campaigns, and other events to bolster community participation,

Core Team: The core team at Radio Cotton City is constituted of twelve members that include the Station Director, Station Manager, and other members. The CRS is also supported by an expert panel with members from different fields such as education and healthcare. This panel provides regular reviews about the programmes and helps curate community-oriented content.

Major Projects Undertaken: Radio Cotton City has partnered with leading organisations for several initiatives. It was a part of the International Day of Yoga campaigns in 2021 and 2022, in association with the Ministry of Ayush, and CEMCA. In addition to this, the CRS also works on developing its own internal initiatives for the welfare of the community. 

Sustainable Strategies: Radio Cotton City is supported financially by its parent organisation Vidharbha Vikas Mahila va Balkalyan Shikshan Sanstha. The CRS aspires to be a self-sustaining entity by partnering with different agencies and organisations for funded projects. 

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: Many villages such as Shivani, Shivar, Gaygaon, Vyala, Borgaon, Ugva, Babhulgaon, Kanshivani fall in the broadcast range of Radio Cotton City. The area has a population of 3,50,000 people and a listener base of at least 2,50,000 listeners. 

Major concerns in the Community: Farmers in the community face several issues and often suffer from local income. They require guidance in many areas including weather, soil, crops, and pesticides. The CRS tries to voice their concerns to the administrative bodies to help the farmers with new initiatives and welfare schemes. Children’s nutrition is another area that needs attention. Women in the community need to be educated and empowered to create a just and equal society.