"Welcome to Radio Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1 - the one stop
entertainment solution for all...," chirps the attractive voice of a radio jockey. A swank new FM channel in New Delhi or Mumbai? No, the innovation of an impoverished Bihar villager that has got people hooked. The radio station, beaming from Mansoorpur village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, has been giving music, local news and views for the last three years. For hundreds in and around the area it is 'the' station to tune into rather than national stations.
Mahto's private radio station has made him a hero in villages within a 12 to 15 km radius. Radio Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1 is top on the popularity charts and Mahto is no less than a media star.
"Nothing clicks here except Raghav radio station," said a villager.
"It was a mere chance, or say a miracle, when during my usual work to repair a radio set, I started a rare experiment one day and was inspired to complete the task. I ended setting up this radio station, which is running and growing in popularity," Mahto, who has his electronics repair shop at Gudri Bazar near Mansoorpur, told IANS in an interview.
Mahto decided to name the station 'Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1' after his name and that of his village. It has now become a household name in hundreds of villages in Muzaffarpur and in neighbouring Vaishali and Saran districts.
His radio station runs like a community radio service providing local news and views. "I broadcast melodious Hindi songs, news, information about crimes in the region, programmes to create awareness on AIDS, on polio eradication and on literacy and agriculture," he said.
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