Kozhikode: Ten years ago, when Calicut University received the Letter of Intent to allot a frequency for the campus-based community radio service, it was all set to house the first private FM radio station in the state and second only campus FM in India after the Anna FM operated by the Anna University. Though the government allocated Rs 25 lakh for the project and transferred the funds to the University, the FM station did not materialise. Instead, the funds were diverted for other purposes resulting in the University losing the rare distinction of having the first campus FM station in the state.
Though now campus FM radios are common among many campuses, the largest university in the state still lacks it. It would have been an asset for the mass communication students in the varsity and also for the communities nearby. “It was during the time of Syed Iqbal Hasnain as the VC, the proposal was sent to the I&B Ministry. We had visited the Ministry authorities at Delhi twice for the purpose. However when the funds were allocated for the purpose, it was diverted to some development activities of the University,” said the then University Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) Director Dr Amjad Ahamed, who was in-charge of framing the proposal. “Later, the project was put in cold storage,” he added.
University sources say that the fund was allotted by the centre through the state government as part of the Additional Central Assistance (ACA) scheme. Later the Syndicate decided the project was not viable and decided to divert the funds for other purposes. “Though there was an attempt to revive the project during Dr Abdul Salam’s tenure, nothing fructified. The FM radio would surely be an asset for the MCJ students,” added University MCJ department head Dr Muhammed Ali.
