News bulletin in Badaga language begins

Fulfilling the long-cherished dream of a majority of the population in the Nilgiris District, All India Radio, here began broadcasting the Badaga news bulletin from today.

The bulletin titled ‘Seemai Suddhi’ (Local news) would be available simultaneously from 7.25 AM daily on Ooty Main radio Channel, MW 1602 and FM 101.8, which would be for five minutes, Malathi Ravindranath, programme head, AIR, told PTI.

With the Badaga language, which has no script of its own, spoken by nearly four lakh people, the Badaga tribes are spread across about 400 villages in the district and constitute 52 per cent of the district population.

Five persons from the Badaga community have been chosen as newscasters, she said.

The news will have all local, state, country and world level happenings in the five or six minute capsule. It was also proposed to introduce Badaga news in a phased manner at 12.45 PM and 6.00 PM slot, after Tamils news daily, which would take some time, she said.

The district has large number of tribal population other than Badagas, like Irulas, Kotas, Kurumbas, Paniyar, Todas and Kattunaickers, and AIR plans to gradually introduce news bulletin in their languages also, which were now covered in a daily programme ‘Naatu Nadappu’, she said.

As for news gathering, Malathi said information given by village assistants, news from the district collectorate and departments would be included in the bulletin.