Radio listeners in Kozhikode and Wayanad are worried. Reports suggest that the Regional News Unit (RNU) of Kozhikode is set to shut down. Prasar Bharati had begun preparations for closure nearly 10 years ago by gradually reducing regular staff.

“The radio station may soon become a thing of the past,” said poet P K Gopi, who leads a campaign organised by the All Kerala Radio Listeners Association in front of the station. The campaign demanded the appointment of new staff and the strengthening of the RNU. Though there were several attempts in the past, such moves were put on hold due to strong public opposition.

According to a memorandum submitted to the office of MP Priyanka Gandhi and signed by 20 contract staff members of the station, the last regular newsreader of the unit will retire on May 31 this year. So far, no steps have been initiated to appoint a replacement, the memorandum stated. The RNU currently has two DTP operators on contract and approximately 25 to 30 casual editors and newsreaders.

For people like Sivan, the owner of a shop at Choladi, a border Tamil hamlet, radio has been his constant companion for generations. He knows the names of all the newsreaders at Akashvani and every programme aired by the Kozhikode radio station. “My home is on a hillside where radio signals are weak. So I switch it on at 9 AM when I reach the shop every day and turn it off in the evening when I go back home,” he added.

Sivan represents thousands of radio lovers who continue to enjoy the services of the Kozhikode radio station, which has a legacy of more than six decades. The station began operations on February 14, 1966, to cater to the cultural uniqueness of the Malabar region.

It is the second station in the state after Thiruvananthapuram. As part of cost-cutting measures, Prasar Bharati is reportedly implementing a “One State, One Station” policy, and officials say it may be time to close the Kozhikode station.