New Delhi: The much-delayed dedicated channel for the North-East, Arun Prabha, is set to be unveiled by the Narendra Modi government soon.
The BJP — which is facing an uphill task of making gains in the region facing protests over the Citizenship Bill — is hoping to showcase the new channel as one of its achievements as the nation heads for Lok Sabha polls. “The launch of the channel is likely to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to the region next week,” sources said. Modi is scheduled to be in the region on February 8-9 to unveil several development projects and also to make a pitch for the party for the forthcoming Lok sabha polls, sources added. BJP chief Amit Shah has reportedly set a target of 21 seats out ot the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast. The party had secured eight seats from the region during last Lok Sabha polls.
The proposed channel is the second for the region. Since the eight states in the Northeast region follow multiple languages and dialects and have distinct cultural identities it is believed that two channels would be able to serve the regional aspirations better.
Sources stated that the existing DD North-East is also likely to be strengthened by introduction of new and better content. Though the proposal to launch DD Arun Prabha was announced in Modi government’s first budget the ambitious plan of channel will soon be launched. The launch has been pushed through as the BJP sees the channel as its gateway to the region’s aspirations.
Sources stated that though the channel was planned to be launched in January 2016 it was delayed after several issues.
