Was inaugurated by Sushma Swaraj on November 1, 2002, and dedicated to late Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal
Deepender Deswal
Hisar, January 14
After around 21 years in operation, the Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) in Hisar — the only kendra in Haryana — has been shifted to the Doordarshan Kendra in Chandigarh. This is the only DDK of the country that has been shut and shifted to Chandigarh. There are 18 other DDKs operating in different states.
No reason cited
All operations will be shifted to the Chandigarh DDK from tonight. It is a policy decision of the Prasar Bharati. There are no reasons mentioned in the order for shifting the Hisar DDK to Chandigarh. Pawan Kumar, Station Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Hisar
All 30 regular employees of the Prasar Bharati have been transferred to Chandigarh and other stations while equal number of temporary employees have been left high and dry.
These temporary employees, headed by the Doordarshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, have been staging a dharna outside the kendra for around two weeks.
The DDK is spread over eight acres that comprises a residential complex for employees on five acres in Sector
The DDK, Hisar, was set up and inaugurated by the then Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj on November 1, 2002. The kendra was dedicated to former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.
The employees said the DDK comprises a studio and production control room. It used to telecast programmes daily from 3 pm to 7 pm, which include news bulletin, kisan and cultural programmes, ‘bhajans’ and folk items on daily basis.
Prasar Bharati, the public service broadcaster, has issued the order (a copy is with The Tribune) regarding shifting of operations of the Hisar DDK to Chandigarh from January
The order states that the decision had been taken with the approval of the competent authority. It further states that all programmes, news related production and transmission activities that were being carried out from the Hisar DDK would be shifted to the Chandigarh DDK.
It also mentions that the Additional Director-General (ADG), Administration, was asked to ensure safety and security of building and premises, along with associated broadcast equipment and switch gear available, at the Hisar DDK.
The affected temporary employees sitting on dharna said: “At least 35 employees, including temporary anchors, data entry operators, security personnel and video editors are likely to lose their jobs. Many folk and other artistes from Hisar and surrounding districts are also associated with this kendra. They used to earn by presenting their programmes and will also be at loss.
The employees said the production and telecast of programmes related to Haryanvi culture was not possible in Chandigarh. Besides, there was no other DDK in Haryana, they said while demanding withdrawal of the shifting orders for Chandigarh.
The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur, had visited the Hisar DDK in December, 2022.
The in-charge station director, Pawan Kumar, said all operations would be shifted to the Chandigarh DDK from tonight. He said it was a policy decision of the Prasar Bharati and there were no reasons mentioned in the order for shifting the Hisar DDK to Chandigarh.
Functional kendras
At present, the Doordarshan Kendras are functioning in Lucknow, Guwahati, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kolkata, Srinagar, Vijaywara, Patna, Raipur, Ahmadabad, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Shillong, Jalandhar and Hyderabad.