Ranchi, Jan. 30: The Ranchi regional centre of Doordarshan has telecast several episodes of current affairs programme, Khabarnama, violating the Prasar Bharti guidelines approved in its 48th annual general meeting on August 13, 2002.

The centre could not keep track of the programme duration, technical quality and broadcasting code, which tarnished its overall image.

Doordarshan has the right to use up to 60 seconds during any 30-minute slot for channel promotion and public service messages. For this a break, a bumper (insertion) has to be provided by producers at the mid-break for insertion of the material by Doordarshan. But the producers often do not do so. Producers have to submit the tapes with commercials along with a copy without commercials two days in advance. But sources said they submitted the cassettes only an hour before telecast time.

The guidelines states, “the programme produced and submitted for telecast should conform to broadcasting codes of Doordarshan”. Prasar Bharti station engineer Anupam Swaroop admitted that there were “some” technical violations in the news and current affairs programme. “We record the problems in a register. But despite our comments programmes are telecast,” Swaroop said. Ranchi centre director Ajay Rashmi Gupta said: “We follow the guidelines. Khabarnama is the first programme based on current affairs. It is not possible to get the cassette two days before the telecast for preview.”