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A Platform for Rural Women

By sachiv1, Section News
Posted on Wed Jan 24, 2007 at 01:04:57 AM EST

The project is based on the concept of distance learning and will cater to only a “niche” audience restricted to rural Bengal

Rural women in the state can now voice their grievances, give suggestions or seek advice from experts on any issue under the s—n courtesy a state government initiative. They will also be able to decide the issues that interest them and select the timings for a discussion according to their convenience.

The project, titled Lok Siksha Sanchar, is the culmination of an MoU signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the state panchayat and rural development department (P & RD) and the Roopkala Kendro which is under the department of information and cultural affairs. The investment is estimated to be around Rs 6 crore. The test run of the project has been successfully completed and it is expected to become operative in two months time.

The project is based on the concept of distance learning and will cater to only a “niche” audience restricted to rural Bengal. Roopkala Kendro will serve as the base station functioning as the “teaching room end hub”. The ISRO and Bharat Electronics Limited have undertaken the task of making the necessary technical installations and providing the infrastructural back-up.

“The class room, on the other hand, will be spread over 341 centres the panchayat samitis. These will be the Receive Only Terminals (ROTs) with facilities for one way video and two-way audio,” said Prof Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, director, Roopkala Kendro. This means that the audience can interact with the experts in the studio at Roopkala Kendro over phone and will be able to see the latter on their screen.

The programme will have 26 Satellite Interactive Stations with two-way video and two-way audio facilities which will enable both the experts and the audience to see each other’s images on screen. Seventeen Zilla Parishads, the Siliguri sub-Divisional Council and the P& RD department will have this facility.

The facility will enable the government to reach out to the distant corners of the villages with its policies. The villagers in turn can give their feedback or ask questions which the experts will answer. “The target audience can freely ask questions without inhibitions. Even queries like how to apply for bank loans can be addressed,” said Mukhopadhyay. The project will break the “great culture of silence,” he added.

Hailed as a step towards rural empowerment, the programme content will be developed by the Roopkala Kendro and will also contain public awareness campaigns prepared by other state government departments. “Though designed for the P& RD department, the other ministries can also use this facility.

The content will depend on which region it addresses. The programmes will be screened for two hours, five days a week.

(Source-Indian Express,24/01/07)

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