Radio Gorakhpur @ 90.8 FM

Contact Person: Mr. B.P Mishra

Broadcasting Language: Hindi, English, and Bhojpuri 

Genesis: Radio Gorakhpur 90.8, established on March 25, 2018, is the first community radio in Gorakhpur District. Managed by a nonprofit NGO, Ashutosh Shikasha Ewam Sewa Sansthan, it is approved by the Community Radio Facilitation Center and empanelled with the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity. Radio Gorakhpur focuses on agriculture, rural development, environmental issues, and employment generation through informative programmes and field activities in rural areas.

Thematic Focus:  Radio Gorakhpur largely focuses on quality education, gender equality, natural farming and natural resource based sustainable livelihoods, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), water security, community health, youth development, renewable energy, awareness generation on social protection policies, schemes and entitlements of government, local self-government, and promotion of local art and culture.

Sustainable Development Goals: Radio Gorakhpur works on the following SDGs:

SDG 1: No Poverty 

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

SDG 3: Good Health & Wellbeing

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 5: Gender Equality

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation  

SDG 7: Affordable & Clean Energy  

SDG 13: Climate Action   

Primetime Programmes: The primetime programmes of Radio Gorakhpur are Health OK (community health), Suno Saheli (women’s education & empowerment), Saptrang (reproductive and neonatal health care & promoting organic nutrition gardens for improved health), Youth booth (gender equality, women empowerment, youth development initiatives), Kheti Kisani (impact stories on natural farming), Student of the week(quiz programme for  students), Lok hit Yojnaayen (social protection schemes of the government), and Aapan mati aapan log (promoting  local folk art and culture) . 

Innovations in format or any other way: Radio Gorakhpur regularly engages with its community by organising community mapping events to identify their changing needs. Community drives are organised to identify new local artists. Celebrations of festivals and days of importance, games, and campaigns are organised. The programmes are regularly updated in consultation with the community.

Core Team: The core Radio Gorakhpur is constituted by the Station Director, Programming Head, three radio jockeys, and technical staff. The content management team of the CRS has eleven members. Additionally, the CRS also has volunteers in the villages of the target community. 

Major Projects Undertaken: Radio Gorakhpur 90.8 is working with UNICEF on an adolescent girls’ health project that aims to create awareness among adolescent girls about anaemia. Other major projects include Poshan Abhiyaan (Nutrition Campaign), The TB Challenge, AAKAR- Gender Equality, and Adolescent Girls’ & Boys’ Development programme.

Sustainable Strategies: In terms of operational management and the accomplishment of its vision and mission, Radio Gorakhpur aspires to be a sustainable entity, but the CRS still has a long way to go before realising this goal. The radio station’s rural location makes it unlikely that it will be able to raise funds through advertisements. The CRS aspires to participate in more funded local and national initiatives.

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: Radio Gorakhpur broadcasts its programmes in a region that has an outreach potential of at least fifteen lakh people.

Major Concerns in the Community: The major concerns within the community are increasing drug addiction among youth, lack of employment opportunities, lack of awareness regarding opportunities and poverty. atrocities on girls and women, loss in farming due to high input cost and climate impacts, poor soil health, and lack of awareness of government social protection schemes. Community members are also concerned about the lack of interest of panchayats while addressing issues like water security, WASH, gender discrimination, and welfare of marginalised sections of the community.