Plus Three first-year student Shrabani Nath is a radio jockey at Ravenshaw Radio 90.4. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 14: Thirteen-year-old aspiring singer Ambichyut Kar can now reach his audience through Ravenshaw Radio 90.4 that went on air on Bisuv Sankranti (Oriya New Year) today.

“I came to know about Ravenshaw Radio when it was doing its dry run. Being a singer, I wanted to grab the opportunity to showcase my talent and now I can reach my audience through the radio,” said Kar. The Class IX student of D.A.V Public School is looking to make extensive use of the community radio station.

Ravenshaw Radio, touted as Orissa’s first campus community radio station (CRS), would now cater to various needs of the students and local residents.

“Today, we have formally launched the community radio station which will cater to various needs of the people, be it in the form of education or entertainment not only for the students but for the people of the city,” said vice-chancellor Devdas Chhotray.

According to Chhotray, Ravenshaw Radio would be run entirely by the students and faculty. The radio station, which successfully completed over six months of dry run of around 12 hours a day was originally scheduled to start broadcasting from April 1 on the occasion of Utkal Divas. But it had to be deferred due to unavoidable circumstances.

“Around 15 students are presently producing programs and preparing shows which will certainly be liked by the people of the city,” said Netajee Abhinandan, chairman of Ravenshaw Radio 90.4 MHz.

The community radio station has a coverage zone of 8-10km. With its own production and transmission studio, it would air a mix of information, education and entertainment, providing a platform to the students for giving expression to their thoughts, talents and creativity.

“It is a firsthand experience for me to understand the basics that are required to become a successful radio jockey. Moreover, it will also help the students to understand the concepts of voice modulation who want to make career in this profession,” said Shrabani Nath, a student and RJ.

Initially, the radio would broadcast programs for two hours a day between 4pm and 6pm and the repeat the broadcast between 9am and 11am the next day. The station would air about 15 programmes in different categories. One of the programmes, Divine Melody, would broadcast classical and devotional songs, Odissi music, traditional Oriya songs and poetry set to music.

Music Room would play modern songs by popular singers as well as in-house music recordings by up-and-coming talents and student singers. Ravenshaw Reporter would be a weekly programme providing all university information along with campus news. Study Centre would feature curricular issues with involvement of faculty members, eminent teachers and academicians.