Off AIR in Imphal: Programmes in local dialects

But since violent clashes broke out in the state on May 3, news programmes in four of these dialects — Thadou, Hmar, Paite, Poumai — have been missing.

The reason for this: the presenters of these programmes moved to relief camps. While Thadou, Hmar and Paite are among the dialects spoken by Kuki communities, Poumai is a Naga dialect.

“The Poumai news programme was introduced just last year, but the others have been around for several decades. This is the first time that these programmes have had to be stopped out of necessity. We are just doing the music programmes in the segments for these dialects. We will resume the news programmes once the situation normalises and people are able to come back,” said an AIR official.

According to officials, the Hmar, Paite and Poumai news programmes were last aired on May 3, the Thadou programme was last aired on May 4.

“Our Thadou presenter came on May 4 but we felt that the situation was too volatile and too unsafe, so we helped him to move to a relief camp in the city,” said an official.