Radio Active

On Saturday evening, Radio City RJ Simran got a call informing her about a blast at GK-I8217;s M Block market. As she was driving from her GK-I residence, praying for her 20-year-old cousin who had gone shopping there, she tuned into her car radio. 8220;It was around 6.45 pm and since the office is shut on weekends and we only run pre-recorded programmes, I heard a catchy Bollywood tune playing on our station,8221; she recalls. As soon as her cousin, nursing an arm injury, was shifted to the hospital and declared safe, Simran went to the station and started fielding live calls for the next five hours. 8220;We were getting frantic calls from all over since the network jammers made cell phones redundant. There was this 20-year-old guy, Saroj, who called up saying that he and his brother were both at CP when the blast happened, and he had not been able to reach him since and could we help locate him. We somehow managed to get through to his brother. The next day the two of them sent us a huge cake to say thank you. Then there was another guy, Prakash, whose father was supposed to leave his CP office and catch a train from the New Delhi Railway Station. Till 9.30 pm he was untraceable. Thankfully, there was a happy reunion here as well,8221; says Simran.

It was 6.15 pm on Saturday evening, as the scheduled Bollywood countdown show was spooling on 98.3 Radio Mirchi, when the news of the first blast at Karol Bagh8217;s Gaffar Market reached them. 8220;We immediately cancelled the programme and began our updates, meanwhile appealing to people to stay calm,8221; recalls RJ Sayema, who hosts the show Purani Jeans. Soon, with more blasts following and cell phones not reachable, the station threw open its lines, connecting as many people as it could and conveying information about the hospitals where the victims were being taken to. 8220;Under the circumstances, it was the least we could do. We followed it up over the next two days besides going in for blood donations,8221; says Sayema.

Even as television channels came up with chilling visuals of the blasts, radio stations began disseminating information to the public. While programmes on All India Radio AIR followed a directive that radio jockeys had to emphasise peace and solidarity, others did their bit by chipping in with necessary information. 8220;I kept mentioning RML Hospital helplines and phone numbers of the information cell so that people could have ready access,8221; says RJ OP Rathore of AIR.

8220;Under such circumstances, you need to think fast and think practical,8221; says Manisha Tripathi, station head of 92.7 Big FM. The radio station called in mayor Arti Mehra and the police spokesperson as quickly as they could to update people on the scenario. 8220;Rather than us telling people not to panic, it8217;s more credible and reassuring if they hear it from authorities who have first-hand information,8221; says Tripathi. The station continued with updates till Monday, even doing outdoor broadcasts from affected areas, speaking to shopkeepers at Palika Bazaar and Connaught Place and conducting a candle march on Tuesday from Janpath to Jantar Mantar. 8220;It could have been any one of us. It8217;s the least we could do.8221;