India : Community Radio Jago Mumbai temporarily goes off-air

MUMBAI: Even as the government takes phlegmatic measures to improve the state of community radio stations in the country, Mumbai’s first community radio Jago Mumbai has temporarily gone off-air citing issues related to financial losses. 

A community radio initiative by the residents of Bandra, the decision to stop the broadcast was taken by its producers Union Park Residents Association (UPRA) after the Union Park building management decided to cut short the lease period to just 12 months. 

Stating that the short lease period was not viable for the station to function, UPRA decided to take the CR off-air until a more affordable location is found. 

Speaking with Radioandmusic.com, Jaago Mumbai station head creative & programming Nitin Makasare said, “Jago Mumbai has been taken off-air temporarily as our lease period expired and the renewal procedure was not feasible to us. While we were getting the lease only for 12 months, the rent stated was also very high. But it is a temporary shutdown and we will surely be back once we find a suitable location nearby.” 

Operating from the Union Park building in Bandra, the station is aiming to come up in the nearby areas of Khar and Bandra only and is currently scouting for locations. 

The station which was available on radio wave FM 107.8, is presently podcasting its programs and uploading the audio files of their shows on their website top continue their engagement with their listeners. But inspite of the efforts taken to ensure continuity with their listeners, the temporary shutdown has already affected the station negatively and might incur further losses. 

He added, “It is obvious that our temporary shutdown has started affecting the station negatively and we are incurring more losses but the move was inevitable. All this has happened because of the financial constraints that we have been facing since last year and it’s just getting more difficult for us now. We are now strategizing to turn our losses into profits soon.” 

As reported by Radioandmusic.com earlier, the station managed to fare decently in the past year inspite of facing a manpower shortage and financial crunch. Makasare had then stated that 2013 will be another tough year for them with no funds coming in, making it difficult to sustain the station. 

(Source : Radioandmusic.com)