Akhilesh man comes up with Radio Saifai

The brainchild of one Dharmu Yadav ‘Dharmik’, a Lakhimpur native, Radio Saifai is “receiving good response”, claims the man behind it.

“Our focus is on rural areas and on the youths. Whatever good things this government has done will be highlighted on the radio. We will visit the areas and record the stories. We will cover every aspect,” Dharmu said.

He added that ‘Radio Saifai’ will concentrate on entertainment as well with Bollywood songs, besides stories on agriculture, development and education among others. “We are in the process of making it a community radio. At present, it can be accessed online from anywhere in the world. Large number of people are listening to it. Soon, we will also air recorded messages of the chief minister.”

Warding off speculations that the initiative has the government’s backing, Dharmu claims he uses his own resources to run ‘Radio Saifai’. “I have not received any funding from anywhere. Anyone who is associated with the development of the state is close to Akhilesh,” he told The Sunday Express.

While he also denies being a member of the SP, party leaders say Dharmu actively participates in their programmes. The ‘Radio Saifai’ website itself clears all doubts on its association with the ruling party — the site’s colour is ‘red and green’, and plays the song ‘Mann se hai Mulayam’ in the background. (The song was recorded by the SP for its campaign during the Lok Sabha elections last year.)

Dharmu explains that he soon plans to sit down with the chief minister “to discuss the expansion of Radio Saifai”. “He had encouraged me when I had suggested the idea and even launched it later (during Saifai Mahotsav),” he said.

“We will be doing our bit to promote the achievements of the state government. There is no harm. Lots of things go unnoticed. We are not interested in any funding and are doing it on our own,” he said.