News By Rubiya Shaikh
For Daijiworld Media Network—Panaji (CN)

Panaji, Sep 21: The state Shiv Sena unit has threatened to act against those private FM channels which  are not airing Marathi programmes.  'We will wait for 15 days for the stations to air Marathi programmes or else we will be forced to act against them,' said Upendra Gaonkar, chief, Goa Shiv Sena, on Saturday September 20.

The Shiv Sena has issued a memorandum to two private FM channels—Big FM and Radio Mirchi—to this effect. 'About 70 per cent of the state's population is Marathi-speaking or understand the language. Despite this, the channels prefer to blacklist the language while preferring English and Konkani,' said Gaonkar.

He said that Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) too are giving stepmotherly treatment to Marathi.  Meanwhile, the FM channels said that language selection is a corporate decision.

'I respect what they feel but finally, programming is a corporate directive. The research was done in Goa and we are offering what works best in the state,' stated Ethel D'Costa, Radio Mirchi's Goa station head. 'If changes are to be made, it would be a corporate decision and not the dictate of political outfits,' she added.