It is shocking that the Prasar Bharati in its wisdom proposed closing of the iconic FM Rainbow channel of Akashvani (the erstwhile All India Radio) in various parts of the country viz., Bengaluru, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa. Rainbow is a colourful, popular and recall value FM channel of 3 decades that has given the private channels a run for their money. In Goa the Rainbow channel caters to all segments of the society and programmes are in 4 languages “ English, Konkani, Marathi and Hindi. As per the diktat, from October 1 several of the popular programmes would be done away with and some merged with the less popular Mhadei channel on the medium wave (MW). Reportedly, the changes have been done so that more news can be broadcasted because of the upcoming 2024 general elections. If Rainbow is closed, at least 100 contract announcers would lose their jobs. In these days when it is tough to get employed, why do the authorities wish to make people jobless? The Rainbow workers/warriors in Goa should ask the Prasar Bharathi to revoke the order with the help of the local politicians, as it happened with the merger of FM and MW channels in Kozhikode, Kerala.
