Lengthy DD soaps shouldn’t bore viewers’

NEW DELHI, FEB 26: A Parliamentary committee has criticised mindless'' extension of some serials on Doordarshan in view of revenue cons...

NEW DELHI, FEB 26: A Parliamentary committee has criticised “mindless” extension of some serials on Doordarshan in view of revenue considerations and asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Prasar Bharati to respect the viewers’ sentiments.

It expressed resentment that the Planning Commission’s instructions to increase internal generation of revenue, instead of relying upon budgetary support, has compelled Doordarshan to grant lengthy extension to some serials like Shanti, Swabhimaan, Junoon and Chandrakanta.

“Mindless extension of these serials has caused extreme boredom in the viewers because the original story line of these serials has been distorted and the theme deviated,” the standing committee on communications said in its report on Doordarshan.

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It has asked Doordarshan to “think twice” before giving extension to any serial on revenue considerations.

The committee, under chairmanship of Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI-M, noted that for telecast of Shanti,Doordarshan earned a revenue of Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh per day, and for Swabhimaan Rs three lakh per day.

It, however, appreciated that Doordarshan was in need of funds, making it difficult to overlook the revenue fetched from these serials.

The committee also clarified that it did not intend to cast aspersions on the credibility of the producers of these serials.

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Expressing concern that the role of Doordarshan as a public broadcaster has been reduced gradually for the sake of revenue, it recommended a balance. It said that indiscriminate emphasis on revenue generation, disregarding the role of public broadcaster, would certainly affect attaining Doordarshan’s objectives.

On shortage of staff to the extent of 40 per cent, particularly cameramen, the committee felt that if these posts were not optimally filled up by Doordarshan, it would not be able to meet competition from technically superior channels.

It expressed concern over the exodus of talented people from Doordarshan over the years,blaming it on lack of freedom, poor promotional avenues, low morale and inadequate pay structure. In this respect, it suggested that the Ministry and Prasar Bharati take immediate steps before it is too late.

The committee stressed that procurement and augmentation of equipment and production facilities should keep pace with expansion of Doordarshan network, more so in view of the challenge from private channels.

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It also expressed concern that cable piracy has become a serious menace to picture quality of Doordarshan channels, as the cable operators are sabotaging Doordarshan signals by transmitting it on jagi’ antenna instead of the dish antenna.

Finding consolation in assurances given by the CEO of Prasar Bharati and I & B Secretary on plans to bring forward an ordinance making it obligatory for cable operators to give DD the same treatment as private channels, the committee recommended bringing forward the legislation soon.