Radio to the Rescue

Radio stations did their best to help people stay calm after the Delhi blasts and deal with the aftermath. Radio proved again that it was a dynamic and spontaneous medium and the best friend of the people in crisis situations.Delhi radio stations proved that they all strongly believed in being socially responsible and being the platform for people's expression. They rose to the occasion and reverted with assurance and information that was most critical and relevant to people at that point of time. As news of the Delhi blasts filtered in, radio channels across the city swung into action to contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the city that was rocked by terror. Considered as happy go lucky and frivolous by many, radio stations rubbished all such accusations of not being in sync with the mood of the city by playing the role of a responsible and credible source of information and support for people worried about the safety of their near and dear ones. Most radio stations in the city stopped the regular broadcasts and changed the music line-up, to reflect the mood of the city. Requests to stay calm and to donate blood for the victims were repeatedly aired along with the various helpline numbers and details of hospitals etc.
Stations like Hit FM, Fever FM, Red FM, Big FM, Radio Mirchi asked people to stay calm and also urged listeners to donate blood for the victims. According to most stations, not being able to air news was a drawback as they had to rely on other sources to inform about the latest and update the listeners. Also, as the telephone lines were jammed, most radio stations asked listeners to send in their messages if they wanted to check on the well-being of their near and dear ones.
According to Neetu Puri Mathrani, Programming Head, Hit 95 FM Delhi, "We could not do anything special on that day as we (radio stations) are not allowed to do News. We just ran promos asking Delhi to stay calm and together and to donate blood."
Adds Neeraj Chaturvedi, Station Head, Fever 104 FM Delhi, " Due to regulation restrictions we cannot give out news, so we had to wait for about an hour when it was not news, to talk about it. We just told people to stay calm, and go back home if they were out. We did it in a very calm manner, so as not to cause any kind of panic. These are very communally sensitive incidents, we had to be careful about not inciting any kind of feeling or anger, so we did not have any call-ins asking people to say what they felt about it. Our programing was normal, except we weren't joking on-air, and just passed on important messages."
Some stations were of the view that doing anything out of the ordinary in terms of changing the music that they normally played would have added to creating more panic. Thus, they carried on with the normal programming in terms of music. Red FM dedicated Saturday and Sunday (13th and 14th September) as Red FM Pe Salaam Dilli. All regular segments were dropped from the evening drive time and phone lines were thrown open for people to call in and broadcast safety messages / live traffic updates all the way till 12am on the day of the blasts.
The station got tremendous response from the people and aired calls after every song. According to the station, they have never received so many calls before. The station actually connected husbands with wives, relatives, friends and family etc., on-air that evening. Saluting the 'Never say die Delhi spirit' RJ Nitin was in the studio on Sunday to connect with the people. He threw open a platform for people to call up and express their opinions of the blasts that rocked the city. He also interviewed celebrities and influential people from all walks of life.
According to Nitin, "I had to talk to Delhi and take the views of all the people. My thought was that it is sad that all this has happened and everybody needs to be alert, but the spirit of Delhi - of bouncing back - should be there always. It is not that after the blasts log darr jayenge aur chhup ke ghar pe baith jayenge, kyunki Dilli bahut daler hai. I just wanted people to come back to normal life soon."
Speaking about the days that followed the blasts and the police work, Nitin says, "The one thing that is bothering me is the great irony in our country. When a guy gets a medal for the country in an Olympic shooting event, he gets one crore rupees and a policeman lays down his life for the people and all that his family gets is eleven lakh rupees!?"