stagnation for a long period of almost three decades full of injustice to the staff and unjust activities to Public Service Broadcaster of India i.e. Doordarshan.

No. ADP3/MIB/2013/                                                         Date: 01.04.2013
 
To
Hon’ble Minister for
Information & Broadcasting
C - I/3, Lodhi Garden
New Delhi - 110 003

 

Subject:        At least one promotion, wherever applicable, to the staff of Programme Wing of Doordarshan to wipe-out the frustration and stagnation for a long period of almost three decades full of injustice to the staff and unjust activities to Public Service Broadcaster of India i.e. Doordarshan.

 

Respected Sir,
We would like to bring to your kind attention the fact that ADP3, the only platform of Programme Professionals of Doordarshan, is happy that after a long period of Recruitment Holiday, Prasar Bharati has taken a step forward for large scale recruitment of staff in the Programme Wing of Doordarshan. We all feel that it’s the high time to save nation’s public service broadcaster.

 

But, simultaneously, we are frustrated because no step has yet been taken to wipe-out the frustration among staff and eliminate the stagnation for a long period of almost three decades full of injustice to the staff. The situation is grave because, Prasar Bharati has not taken any initiative to regularize the adhoc Programme Executives and Assistant Director(P)s who are rendering their duties since decades without being populated in seniority list. In lieu of that new staff are being recruited to fill up the vacancies. Production Assistants who are actually doing the works of Programme Executives are not getting desired status for at least three decades. They are reaching their superannuation without getting single promotion. It’s a saga of injustice.

 

The role of Doordarshan is to promote the literature, culture and tradition of the respective region and as a whole of the entire country. It is meant to reflect the socio-economic and political scenario of respective region and to protect the emotion and sentiments of the people of the country irrespective of their caste, colour and creed. It is obvious that to perform this lead role amongst all other channels of the region, it needs a sound and knowledgeable team of programme producers, who has enough experience and awareness, aesthetic sense and sensibility about modem technology of programme making. Doordarshan has three Wings, e.g. Programme, Administration and Engineering. But surprisingly at present the programme wing is the weakest of all wings in terms of number of staff. Staff at this Wing are attaining superannuation without having a single promotion in their entire service career. Frustration amongst them reached its culmination.
 
On entering deep into the issue, it is revealed that a number of posts of DD Programme officers are occupied by some Programme Officers of All India Radio who actually do not have knowledge of visual media. Being placed in the upper hierarchy they actually remain busy with table works only as they are incapable of producing programmes for DD-viewers. Recruitment in the Programme Wing was stopped for the last two decades. Junior programme officers were also not given due promotion, yet in the present scenario, all the work of programme production is done by those junior programme staff i.e. Production Assistants individually for the last two decades. This junior staffs of DD Programme Wing are supervised by unprofessional Officers who came from All India Radio and who do not know the ABC of a visual media. In 1976, Smt. Indira Gandhi officially declared to separate the entity of two departments i.e. AIR and DD. Ministry of I&B also issued the order accordingly, two separate Directorate and the post of two DG i.e. DG: AIR and DG: DD were created. But all went in vein. Till date the cadre controlling authority of DD is DG: AIR.
 
Without having the knowledge about the visual media and without knowing the actual requirement DG:AIR declared some vital post like Sound Recordist, Scenic Designer, Lighting Assistant etc. as dying cadre. This was extremely ridiculous.

It’s alarming that in the recent advertisement also there is no mention of recruitment of Cameraman, Lighting Assistant, Property Assistant, Scenic Designer, Floor Manager, Floor Assistant etc. who are the key staff of programme making in Doordarshan. The requirement of Doordarshan Programme Wing cannot be adjudged by the people who are not actual professionals of visual media. We feel that lot of initiatives are being taken presently, but simultaneously we are skeptical about the effectiveness of those initiatives. Because, change in the screen i.e. the final output which the viewers watches, is the only yardstick which matters and to achieve that the first preference should be given to the Programme Wing of Doordarshan which is being neglected since decades.
 
Measures may be taken as remedy:

1.     Filling up of posts of Producers / Programme Executives in Doordarshan by promotion of experienced and trained Production Assistants who presently running the shows for at least two decades prior to recruitment of new staff to avoid any further resentment throughout the country.

2.     Recruitment of Production Assistant, Cameraman, Video Editor.

3.     Recruitment of Lighting Assistant, Property Assistant, Scenic Designer, Floor Manager, Floor Assistant etc.

Your kind intervention in this issue shall bring rising days and an achievement for the National Public Service Broadcaster of the Country “Doordarshan”. Jai Hind!

With regards.

Yours faithfully,

(Umesh Mishra)

President

 

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