WINTER PROJECT ON

“District Media Profile on

Kamrup District (Metro)”
Submitted To: Submitted By:
Dr. D. J. Pati Kulanath Kaushik
(Head of the PGP-AdCoMM(09-11)
Department) Roll No. 05
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Our Head of the Department

Dr. D. J. Pati for giving me this opportunity to
study the district media atmosphere of Kamrup
District (Metro). The district came into existence in
2003 by bifurcating the erstwhile Kamrup District
into Kamrup(metro) and Kamrup(rural) for better
administration. While making the media profile on
Kamrup I have learnt a lot about Media Industry.

I would sincerely like to thank DPRO Kamrup

(metro) Mr. Chirajul Hussein and Joint Director of
Directorate of information and Public Relation of
the State of Assam Mr. B. Bez under whose
guidance and direction I was able to complete my
project. In my journey I was well supported by
many of the organization as well as personnel’s
working in Media Industry in Guwahati. I would
like to convey my gratitude to Mr. Gautam Jha of
DY365, Mr. Shahzad Hussein OSD of Assam
Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., Pranjal
Naag of Janambhumi Group, Ms. Firoza Ahmed
Asst. Research Officer of Doordarshan Kendra
Guwahati, All India Radio-Guwahati, Agradut
Group, NE television and Tribune Group.
 DECLARATION

I do hereby solemnly declare that the report –

District Media Profile on kamrup has been entirely

done by me under the guidance of Mr. Chirajul

Hussein, the District Public Relation Officer and

Mr. B. Bez, Joint Director Directorate of

Information and Public Relation for the state of

Assam. This report is entirely drafted by me and

has not been submitted to any other institution and

has not been published anywhere else.

 INTRODUCTION
The district Kamrup Metro was created bifurcating
the old Kamrup district in 3 rd February'2003. The
head quarter of the district is Guwahati. Once
known as Pragjyotishpur (the light of the East),
Guwahati derives its name from the Assamese
words “Guwa” means areca nut and “Haat” means
market. Guwahati has a magical aura that still
lingers over the ever – expanding city. Guwahati
today is important because it is the seat of power in
Assam, is a major commercial centre and is the
node that connects six other North Eastern Indian
States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur,
Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Guwahati is situated on the southern bank of the

mighty river Brahmaputra River in Assam. It is a
fast growing premier city of the region and a
gateway to the North-Eastern States of India and a
principal centre of socio-cultural, political,
industrial and a trade and commerce of the entire
region. Dispur, the capital of Assam is a part of
Guwahati. Reference of Guwahati could be found
in ancient literature of our country. Atop Nilachal
Hills, 8km. from the city centre lies the famous
Shakti temple of Goddess Kamakhya, one of the 51
Shakti Peeth in the country.
Flow of the Profile:
S No.

1) History
2) Geography and Climate
3) Places of Interest
4) General Administration
5) Transportation
6) Education
7) Shopping Experience
8) Festivals
9) General Media Atmosphere
10) Cinema
11) Newspaper
12) Television
13) Radio
14) Mobile Theater
15) Advertising Scenario
16) SWOT Analysis
17) My Observation
18) Conclusion
19) Bibliography
 History
The district Kamrup Metro was created bifurcating
the old Kamrup district during 2003. But the newly
created district Kamrup Metro conducted its first
election only during the 12th Assembly Election of
Assam 2006. The head quarter of the district is
Guwahati. Guwahati has a magical aura that still
lingers over the ever – expanding city. According
to a legend, the demon king Narakasura is said to
have built this ancient city. Another reason for
Guwahati’s charm is it’s being the ancient
‘Kamrup’, the place where the part of the body of
goddess Sati falls and which is also the birthplace
of Kamdeva, the God of love. Pragjyotishpur also
finds frequent mention in the Mahabharata and
other Sanskrit epics and mythology. The district
once situated midway between two powerful
kingdoms: the Ahoms and the Koch. Neither
Mughals nor the Koch could maintain power at
Guwahati however, and it is better known as the
seat of the Borphukan, the civil and military
authority of the region appointed by the Ahom
King. Guwahati today is important because it is
the seat of power in Assam, is a major commercial
centre and is the node that connects six other North
Eastern Indian States of Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and
Tripura.
 Geography and Climate
Location:
Kamrup District is situated between 25.46 and
26.49 North Latitude and between 90.48 & 91.50
East Longitude.

The District is bounded by:-

North – Darrang District.

South – Meghalaya State.
East - Marigaon District.
West – Kamrup District Rural.

CLIMATE & RAINFALL:

Climate: Sub tropical with semi -dry summer &

cold in winter.

Annual Rainfall: Ranges between 1500 mm to

2600 mm.

Natural Calamity: Flood occurs generally in the

low-lying areas of the district during May to
August every year. Late flood during the later part
of September & October also occurs. The
occurrence of flood in the district is due to the river
Brahmaputra and its Tributaries.

Average humidity: 75%

Max. Temperature: 38.5 C.

Min. Temperature: 7 C.

IMPORTANT RIVERS:

Brahmaputra
Bhorolu
Bashistha

IRRIGATION:
The District has 58,239 ha. of irrigated land. The
bifurcation as per 1999-2000 data is as under:

a) By channels/surface. 18,681 ha.

b) By wells (DTW) 818 ha.

c) By lift irrigation. 6,841 ha.

d) By other sources (STW+LLP etc.) 39,630 ha

 Places of Interest
Gandhi Mandap:

NON-VIOLENCE IS THE GREATEST FORCE

AT THE DISPOSAL OF MANKIND.IT IS
MIGHTIER THAN THE MIGHTIEST WEAPON
OF DESTRUCTION DEVISED BY THE
INGENUITY OF MAN.........MAHATMA
GANDHI

Gandhi-mandap is a memorial dedicated to the

Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.It is located
in the very heart of the city, right at the top of the
Sarania Hillock. It was built in year 1969 and was
opened to the public in 1970. It is approximately
2km distance from base to the top of the hillock.
Aswaklanta:

It is a small hill lying on the North bank of the

Brahmaputra River. To the Hindus particularly for
the vaisnavites, this place has a lot of religious
importance and to the non-believers it is a treasure
of scenic beauty. It is associated with the mythical
story of Srikrishna – Rukmini. The hill has two
Vishnu temples known as Kurmayanardan and
Anantasayi-Visnu. Ideally located on the bank of
the river, it is linked by regular ferry services with
the south bank. It can be reached by road across the
Saraighat Bridge.

Balaji Temple:

It is located at Lokhra near the National highway

37. This temple has been constructed in tune with
South India temples.

Dirgheswari Temple:
Located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and
linked by a motorable road, this shrine is
considered as one of the supreme Devi Tirthas of
the state. Isolated and lying at the foot of a range of
hills, it has several rock cut images which can be
placed in the 11th to 12th century A.D. This is one
of the few temples where the buffalo sacrifice is
done annually during Durga Puja.
Nabagraha :

The temple of Navagrahas is situated in the

southeastern part of the Guwahati town on the crest
of a hill known as "Citrachala". The temple
contains nine phallic emblems of Shiva covered
with cloths of different colours sacred to the nine
planetary gods, namely, Surya (Sun), Chandra
(Moon), Mangala (Mars), Buddha (Mercury),
Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani
(Saturn), Rahu and Ketu. It is approachable by a
pitched road. Worshiping of planets to ward off
evil is prevalent here.
Basistha Ashram:

Basistha temple, located in the southeast corner of

Guwahati city is a mandir constructed by Ahom
King Rajeswar Singha along with gift of land 835
Bighas for the ashram. The history of the Basistha
Ashram where the temple is located dates back to
the Vedic age. According to legends the ashram
was founded by the great saint Basistha
(Vasishtha).

Temple in the ashram stands on the bank of the

mountain streams originating from the hills of
Meghalaya, which becomes the rivers Basistha and
Bahini/Bharalu flowing through the city.
Sukreswar & Janardan:

These two temples are located at Panbazar by the

side of the Brahmaputra built during the reign of
Swargadev Pramatta Sinha (AD 1744-51). The
temple of Lord shiva is situted on the Brahmachal
or Dakini hill as mentioned in old scriptures. It is
famous for the 6th Jyotirlinga of India. Quite a
large number of visitiors from all over India visit
this holy shrine. Just below the hill the North
Brook Gate is situated which was built to welcome
the Viceroy of India, North Brooke during British
Raj.

Deepor Bill:
A large natural wetland with an area of 4.14
sq.km., Deepor Bill is the State's first Bird
Santuary. Varieties of local and migratory birds can
be seen here to the great delight of visitors.
Geeta Mandir:

The Geeta Mandir is located on a hill contiguous to

the New Guwahati Railway Marshalling yard. It is
approachable from the Zoo-Narengi Road. The
architecture of the temple is unique in itself and is
in the shape of a chariot, indicating the Divine
Chariot that Lord Srikrishna rode in the epic war
Mahabharata.
Kamakhya Temple:

It is located on the top Nilachal hill, which is 160

metre high. This hill has a group of ancient
temples; the most famous of them is the Kamakhya
temple. This temple is considered as the greatest of
all the saktipithas in India. Around this shrine small
township of Kamakhya has sprung up. Kamakhya
is known for its rare natural beauty and one can
enjoy an areal view of the city of Guwahati and the
mighty Brahmaputra flowing below.
MUSEUMS

Assam State Museum:

Situated on the South of the Dighali Pukhuri, this

museum is the oldest institution of its kind in
Northeast India. It is a multipurpose museum, but
its sculptural assortment is the richest.

Cottage Industry Museum:

It is a small museum situated in the Ambari area

and under the management of the Industries
Department of the State Government. The objects
on display cover many colorful items from the
Satriya culture and indigenous art and craft. It’s
only five minutes walk from the Assam State
Museum.

Regional Science Centre & Museum:

Located at Khanapara this museum is the only

science museum of the state. Apart from galleries
full of scientific gadgets, this institution imparts
science education to the student community.
Dispur:

The capital of the state, which was established in

1973, has grown into a thickly populated area and
containes shops and business establishments. Jatia
is another ward adjacent to Dispur and it is
believed that the two wards namely Jatia and
Dispur jointly perpetuate the memory of
Pragjyotishpur, The ancient capital of the kingdom
of Kamarupa or old Assam.

Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra :

It is a unique cultural complex situated at Panjabari

named after Srimanta Sankardeva the great unifier
of Assam and the greatest integrator of the India
Society in the fifteen century. Kalakshetra has
Sahitya and Sangeet Natak Bhawan, Lalit Kala
Bhavan, Heritage Park, Cultural Museum, Open
Air Theatre and an Artist’s Village. It was formally
inaugurated in Feb. 1999.
State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden:

Situated beside the R. G. Barua Road, this

sprawling, well-maintained zoo, replicated as far as
possible the natural habitats of many of its animals.
The Botanical gardens are a service of interest as
its herbarium.

Umananda Temple:

Greater Guwahati contains three islands in the

midst of the Brahmaputra known as Umananda
(Peacock Island), Urvashi and Karmanasa, first one
being the biggest. On the top of the Umananda
Island exist three temples Umananda,
Chandrsekhar and Hargauri and contain rock-cut-
sculptures and carvings.

Dighali Pukhuri:

Opposite of Guwahati High Court Dighali Pukhuri

is a historic tank where facilities like boating, video
games parlor etc are available.

Guwahati Planetarium:

Located near Latashil field, it is a smaller version

of the Birla Planetarium in Calcutta. It is open to
visitors on payment to watch the different shows
related to astronomy.
 General Administration
District Administration:

The Deputy Commissioner heads the District

Administration. He also acts as the Collector in
case of Revenue matters, as District Magistrate in
case of maintenance of Law and Order and General
Administration, as District Election Officer in case
of conduct of Election and so on. The Deputy
Commissioner is aided by a number of Officers
like Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sub-
divisional Officers, Extra Assistant Commissioners
and others.

Revenue Administration:

It has historically been the primary responsibility of

the District Administration. This involves
collection and fixing of land revenue, registration,
mutation and overall management in regard to land
matters - private and public. Besides the Revenue
Branch of the Deputy Commissioner's Office,
which is looked after by the Additional Deputy
Commissioner (Revenue), there are 6 outlying
Revenue Circles in the district, supervised by
Circle Officers. The Mouzadars under the Circle
Officers are responsible for collecting land revenue
(Khazna) from landowners (pattadars). All the
Circle Officers are required to submit 'doul'
(demand of revenue) to DC, and after his approval,
Mouzadars are to collect revenue as per demand.

District Development:

It is one very important objective of the District

Administration. As head of the District
Administration, the DC is responsible for all-round
developmental activities in the district under
various programmes such as MP's Local Area Fund
(MPLAD), MLA's fund, Untied Fund, Sub-
divisional Plan Scheme Fund, Border Area
Development Fund and so on. For this work, the
DC assigns the A.D.C. (Development) the specific
task of looking after and coordinating various
developmental activities undertaken in various
sectors. The A.D.C. (Development) is aided in this
matter by the Decentralized Planning Cell of the
DC's office. All development departments in the
district, like PWD, Irrigation, Health, Education
and many others work in co-ordination and a
District Development Committee (DDC) headed by
D.C. has been in place to ensure this coordination.
Under the Government policy of rapid upliftment
of rural population, a District Rural Development
Agency (DRDA) is functioning in the district
which has Deputy Commissioner as the Chairman
and one Project Director as its functional head. All
schemes for Rural Development are implemented
by this agency and in this work; it is aided by the 4
(four) Development Blocks situated in outlying
rural areas of the district. These Development
Blocks are supervised by Block Development
Officers (BDOs).

Law & Order:

It is another important aspect of the district

administration and the DC, also being the D.M., is
responsible for proper maintenance of the Law and
Order situation. The DC is aided by Additional
Deputy Magistrates (ADM), Sub-Divisional
Magistrates (SDM) and Executive Magistrates
(EM). The Circle Officers of the Circles also
function as Executive Magistrates and are
responsible for maintenance of Law & Order in
their respective circle areas. The DM and other
magistrates take necessary assistance from the
police department when such necessity arises. The
Superintendent of Police heads district Police
Administration. The police department has an
infrastructure of 21(twenty one) police stations,
outpost and other auxiliary establishments in the
district.

Local Administration:

For management and Implementation of various

developmental schemes, elected bodies are
constituted at the level of Corporation,
Municipality and Town Committees for Urban
Areas and Panchayat Bodies for the rural areas.
Kamrup District has 3 (three) urban local
administration bodies as follows with polulation
(As per 2001 Census) :

1) Guwahati Municipal Corporation = 8,09,895

2) North Guwahati Town Committee = 16,286
3) Narangi(OG) = 8,914
 Transportation
Guwahati, the gateway of the Northeast can be
easily accessed by road as NH-37 passes through it
along the South of River Brahmaputra and the
district is also at the junction of NH-31, 37 and 40.
The city is well connected by Indian Railways, as
there are many trains to and from Guwahati
including super fast trains like Rajdhani Express.
The Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport, the
largest in the region linking to major cities in India
is 25 KM away at Borjhar. Regular flights to and
fro Guwahati are operated by Indian Airlines, Jet
Airways, Jet Lite, Kingfisher, Deccan Air, Indigo
and Spice Jet. Helicopter services are also available
between Guwahati and Shillong, Guwahati and
Itanagar(Arunachal Pradesh) and Guwahati and
Tawang(Arunachal Pradesh).

Railway Station
Airport

< ISBT
Guwahati
 Education
Guwahati, one of the major and bustling cities of
Assam, is also a frontier to the country's North
Eastern region. It is not only the largest city of the
region but also an important commercial center.
Guwahati is the cradle of education in the entire
northeastern belt and education in Guwahati has
always attracted people from different parts of the
country. Schools in Guwahati are both privately
operated and Government-aided public schools.
The schools are affliated either to the Assam
Council of Secondary and Higher Secondary
Education or Indian Council of Secondary and
Certifiate (ICSE/ISC) or Central Board of
Education (CBSE).

PMGY:

The PMGY Scheme was also implemented through

the Elementary Education Department. During
2001-02, an amount of Rs. 1.00 lakh each has been
submitted against 66 schools for construction of
school buildings under PMGY. During 2002-03, an
amount of Rs. 1.50 lakhs each has been submitted
against 48 schools for construction for school
buildings under PMGY. During 2003-04, also an
amount of Rs. 1.50 lakhs each has been submitted
against 48 schools. No fund was provided against
the schemes during 2004-05.

RAJIB GANDHI COMPUTER LITERACY

PROGRAM:

In Kamrup district, already 15 schools were

covered under RGCLP during 2003-2004 and 14
schools were covered during 2004-05. Another 12
schools were covered in the 3rd phase in Kamrup
district for 2005-06.

There are many national level schools in Guwahati,

which has so far groomed the children of
Northeast. Among the school which deserves a
mention are:

Cotton Collegiate HS School

DAV School
Carmel Convent
Don Bosco High School
Sarla Birla Gyan School
Faculty Higher Secondary School
Kendriya Vidyalaya (North Guwahati IIT Campus,
Borjhar, Khanapara, Maligaon and Narengi)
Maharshi Vidya Mandir
Tarani Charan Choundhury Girls School
Panbazar Girls High School
St. Marry's Convent School
Delhi Public School
Little Flower School
Maria Montesari Public School
Assam Rly HS School

Prestigious Educational Institute in Guwahati

Among the other esteemed institutions worth

mentioning are Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Guwahati an autonomous institute dedicated in the
field of technical studies/Science and Ivy League of
Institutes in India.

Guwahati Medical College (GMC) the oldest

medical institutions Under Gauhati University,
recognized by All India Medical Council.

Assam Engineering College for the Bachelor and

Master Degree of different engineering branches
with good reputation of out put.

Assam Ayurvedic College for Ayurvedic Health

Education.

Assam Engineering Institute, Institute of Co-

operative Management, Assam Institute of
Management, Gauhati Institute of Management,
Indian Institute for Hotel Management (IIHM) are
also renown institutes for technical education.
Clockwise from upper-right corner: Cotton College, IIT Guwahati, Guwahati Medical
College and Assam Engineering College.

The Cotton College is yet another century old

autonomous institution consistently delivering
quality education in the fields of Science and Arts.
The institution is now set to become Deemed
University having a PG institute independently.

Apart from these, there are Gauhati Commerce

College, College of Vetrinary Science, Arya
Vidyapeeth College, B. Baruah College, Handique
Girls College.
Gauhati University:

The university was established in 1948 and is

located at Jalukbari, flanked by the National
Highway 37. It is 4 km from Maligaon area in
Guwahati. The university has 21 faculties along
with other departments including Biotechnology,
Environmental science, Folklore, Instrumentation
centre etc. The university classes are closed in June
and July for summer vacation and during major
festivals like Durga Puja and Bohag Bihu.
Important institutions such as the Assam Ayurvedic
College, Assam Engineering College, Assam
Police Radio Organisation are on the southern &
eastern side of the campus. One crosses through the
University campus while going to the airport.

Statistical Data of Educational Institute:

Gross Enrolment Ratio -
Male: 107630
Female: 89975
No. of Schools -
No. of Primary School : 2121
No. of Middle School : 501
No. of High Schools : 320
Higher Secondary Schools: 49

No. of Govt. Technical Institutes /Colleges/

Universities -

Technical Institutes:
I.I.T - 1
Eng. College - 1
Med. College - 1
Polytechnic College - 3
ITI-2
Vety. College - 1
Dental College - 1
Nursing College - 1
Ayurvedic College - 1
Law College - 2
B. Ed College - 2

College: 32
University: 1

Percentage of Trained Teachers -

High Schools: 48%
Hr. Secondary Schools: 29%
Teacher/ Pupil Ratio -

High Schools - 1:28

Hr. Secondary Schools - 1:39

Literacy Rate -

Total: 80.59%
Male: 85.51%
Female: 74.16%
 Shopping Experience
The era of consumerism is here and it has touched
base in Guwahati as well. Shopping complexs,
Super Markets, Multiplexes are all the things of
today. But in Guwahati a nice balance of traditional
and modern day shopping experience could be
perceived. While on the one hand we have people
buying there groceries at 7to9 and the same set of
consumers going for Sunday’s “Haat Bazaar” in
local makeshift markets. Though Guwahatians
enjoy the experience of shopping at a mall, which
is ever increasing in number, but they have not yet
stopped visiting the old fashion markets. The rise in
the purchasing power of the masses has attracted
many of the national players in the retail sector.
First to venture into the retail sector in Guwahati
was Vishal Mega Mart in 2004-05, amongst the
national brands. Prior to that Guwahati had a few
Shopping malls like Shoppers’ Point, Hub, A/C
Market etc. There were many supermarkets like
Orient, Tanz, Utsav etc. But once Vishal Mega
Mart entered the market of Guwahati, the national
marketers could see the enormous untapped
potential that is Guwahati.

Now in Guwahati we can see all major brands that

is available in India. Major retail players like Big
Bazaar, Pantaloons, Westside, Salasar, Kolkata
Baazar and City Mart etc have their outlet here.
Along with them there are few many local malls
like Hub, Dona Planet, Rang Ghar, Sohum Shoppe,
Thakuria’s Novelty etc. In addition to all this
Guwahati still have maintained its old fashion
bazaars. People still visit its Fancy Bazaar, Paltan
Bazaar, Maligaon Bazaar, Ganeshguri Bazaar for
their requirements of apparels. This diversified
shopping experience is possible because of the
demography of the city, which itself is really
diversified.

In and around the G.S. Road a mushroom growth

of shopping malls could be viewed. All the major
apparel brands like Levi’s, Pepe Jeans, Wrangler,
Killer Jeans, Puma, Nike, Converse, Adidas,
Reebok have their outlets in this area and the
number is increasing by the day.

Apart from these modern day shopping culture

Guwahati still embrace the old fashion Bazaar,
which is a make shift market which periodically
organized for one or two days a week. Such
markets like Beltola Bazaar, Kalangpar bazaar,
Satgaon Bazaar, Kachari Bazaar is really popular
amongst the masses. It also provides trade
opportunities to the residents living in nearby rural
areas.
 Festivals
Guwahati’s most popular festival is Bihu. Assam
celebrates Bihu Three times a year – Rangali Bihu,
Kangali Bihu and Bhogali Bihu. Amogst these in
the time of Rangali Bihu the city celebrates the
festival of colors with stage shows for five
continuous days. In the month of Bohag, according
to Assamese calendar, which welcomes spring,
there are many stage shows showcasing local talent
all across the state.

Durga Puja is another popular festival celebrated

here in Guwahati. There are approximately 1200
Durga Puja committee worshiping mother goddess
Durga. Every locality lights up during this time. On
the day of Vijaya Dashami there is big carnival
organized for Devi visharjan. Due to the massive
number of Puja committees this ceremony goes for
two days.

Ashoka Ashtami is also celebrated in Guwahati in a

big way. Mythology plays a vital role in its
celebration. According to myths When Lord
Parashuram was carving river Brahmaputra to
rectify his sin. Near Nilachal hill mother goddess
Kamakhya asked him to pay a visit to the temple.
As he went in he asked the river to wait in the same
posture till he returns. But due to immense current
of the water Brahmaputra crumbled under pressure
and it took its own course. When Lord Parashuram
came back and saw that, he cursed the river not to
be recognized as sacred and said it will do nothing
but bare the garbage of its locals. When
Brahmaputra pleaded for mercy the Lord said on
the day of Ashoka Ashtami the river Ganges will
flow from the north bank and the locals who do not
have the fortune to travel to take bath in the holy
river may take a dip in this river. Thus every year
thousands of local citizen take a dip in the river
Brahmaputra in this holy occasion.

The Kamakhya mandir, which is the epicenter of

Tantrism in India, plays host to “Ambubachi
Mela”. Devotees from India so as trans national
devotees flock to the temple for a holy pilgrimage.
It provides a cross-cultural exchange. These
devotees attend the weeklong mela during which
the temple is on a temporary hiatus. The
organiztion of this mela provides a huge challenge
for the district administration, but so far the district
administration have conducted it’s working
flawlessly. The state government understands the
value of the mela and thus it provide full co-
operation in organizing it. Apart from the devotees
this mela also attract tourist who are always
fascinated by Tantra. There have been a number of
documentaries made on this annual event.
 Media Atmosphere
Guwahati is the epicenter of all media activity. The
media industry with the arrival of new century has
got a tremendous boost. Now media is the industry
to be in. there has been a ascending growth in the
investment in the media sector. Be it electronic,
print, visual, event media all are booming, even
good old folk media is also on a high. It is evident,
as in the last five years there is a growth of 3
private channels from 0, FM channels growth is
from 0 to 4 in last three years. There will be two
more groups venturing into television industry in
the region.

The print industry is also going through a big

change. This is largely due to the change in the
outlook of the people. The citizens are getting more
aware by the day and cannot be fooled by biased
opinion. Young and enthusiastic minds are
attracted towards writing. Overall there is an
intellectual growth in the region. People like
Tanushree Hazarika have perceived the opportunity
in the media in the region and thus have left their
job at foreign land to start up something as noble as
Eclectic Magazine. There are others who have
come up with National Dailies published from
Guwahati. Northeastern Chronicles is brainchild of
such thoughts.
Assamese movies have always been able to make
an impression the national field. Award winning
directors are molded here in Jyoti Chtrabon, which
was established by father of Assamese film Jyoti
Prashad Agarwal. Films like “Halodhiya Saraaye
Baodhan Khay”, “Raag-Biraag”, “Adajya”,
“Hagoroloi Bogu Duur” are films that have left
their mark at the national level. But ever since 1996
a new era in Assamese film has begun, the
commercial film era. Joubone Aamoni Kore was
first of the many Assamese commercial film.
Though with advent of commercial film the old art
film has been on a dying bed but even then the
people working in the industry is not complaining
as the money flowing into the industry is much
higher. In last three years a new form of
communication has gained popularity. Commonly
known as “CD Cinema” is nothing but commercial
movie but with no public shows on any screens but
direct made to disk format and distributed at a
cheaper cost.

While discussing media industry one thing cannot

be ignored is the mobile theatre groups. This is
very popular in the rural areas but it has also been
gaining popularity in the metro area as well. In
Guwahati the stage dramas have resurfaced after a
long time. Dramas are now regularly showcased at
Ravindra Bhawan and Bhaskar Natya Mandir etc.
 Cinema
Assamese movie started long back in the pre-
independence era. Jyoti Prashad Agarwal the father
of Assamese movies made his first movie in 1934
with “Joymoti”. He faced immense hardship while
making the film as Assamese people had an
orthodox outlook in those days. Thus he
established Jyoti Chitrabon a film city at Kahilipara
in Guwahati to help the upcoming filmmakers. The
land of Assam has produced many good
filmmakers. They have acclaimed success at the
national level time and time again. Assamese
filmmakers have indulged in making film
concerning different issues prevalent in the society.
“Adahjya” is a film, which was made addressing
the sati issues. “Hagoroloi Bohu Duur” another
movie made addressing the issue of generation gap.
Filmmakers like Jahnu Baruah, Bidyoot
Chakravarty, Shantana Bardoloi Have brought
success for the region.

Guwahati has a large movie going audience.

Though the tastes and preferences of the audiences
have changed but what hasn’t changed is their habit
to visit cinema halls. The multiplex culture has
penetrated the city life, the single screen halls
coping with the challenges of the multiplexes and
doing good. This has improved the movie-going
experience of the audience. There are 2 multiplexes
and more than 15 single screen halls operating in
the perimeter of Guwahati metropolitan. The
multiplexes Cinemax and Gold are popular
amongst the youth. These halls have their own
distribution network through which they get hold of
prints of the film. Many of the cinema halls like
Anuradha, Pragjyoti, Apsara, Meghdoot have
recently got their satellite connectivity. Because of
these halls can screen any film along with its
national release. They no longer have to wait for
prints to reach Guwahati or dependent upon the
distributors. Apart from these there are halls like
Urvashi, Mayur Krishna, Kelvin, Vandana,
Rupashree, Aruna etc., which cater to the need of
the lower stratum of the society.

Apart from traditional art and commercial film

there is a new phenomenon that is going on
centering Guwahati, VCD movies. I have briefly
mentioned what it is earlier. Production houses like
NK production have pioneered this. It is largely
done to encounter piracy movement in Assam. In
Assam about five years back this was a big issue
encountering the movie industry. Assamese
movies, which is popular amongst the rural
audience, was finding it difficult to reach its
audience in time as pirated copies of the same was
available in the market much earlier. Thus the
filmmakers came up with this idea of making a
movie which will fit into a VCD size and contain a
few of the advertisement by its sponsors. It will be
priced at a convenient rate; most of them cost Rs.
15 INR.

Critics are of the view that this has substantially

lowered the standard of movie making. Though it
has compromise on the production it has
compensated by providing job opportunities to a
large section of the unemployed youth. It also
presents a platform for the raw talent to showcase
their talent.
 Print Media
The print media is a very strong medium of
communication for the people of Assam. The first
Newspaper of Assam “Arunudoy” was published in
1913. Most of the print medium that is circulated
in Northeast India has its base in Guwahati.
Renowned news groups like Tribune, Sentinel, GL
Publications, Pratidin group, Agradut group all
operate from Guwahati. With the arrival of new
millennium the print media industry has gone
through a lot of changes. The national newspapers
could see the untapped market opportunity and they
are gradually entering into the market. The
Telegraph a national daily has a business lease with
the Janambhumi group for publication of their
Guwahati supplement.

Even the periodicals are improving its standard.

This is largely due improvement in the general
lifestyle of the masses. The brain drain has slowed
down. A lot of the youth now see the opportunity in
Northeast region and thus staying back. The print
media has always been encouraging the
intellectuals of the region. With the increasing
number of print medium these intellectuals are
finding it attractive to stay back and contribute to
the growth of their motherland. Quality English
monthly periodicals like Eclectic and Reflexion
presents such platform to these intellectuals.
Amongst the approved English newspapers in the
state three are published and edited in Guwahati.
Assam Tribune one of the oldest daily of Assam
published from Guwahati and Dibrugarh is the
most circulated newspaper in Kamrup District
(metro) with daily circulation of 42,760 copies.

Amongst the approved dailies in other vernacular

languages like Hindi and Assamese, four Hindi and
eleven Assamese newspapers are published from
Guwahati. The most circulated Hindi daily of
Guwahati is Sentinel with over 20,000 circulations
in Kamrup metro and the most circulated
Assamese daily is Dainik Agradut with over
30,000 circulations in Kamrup metro area.

In the bi-weekly category no English or Hindi

bulletin is published. There are three bulletin in this
category published out of which two are Assamese
and one is multi-lingual. Agradut enjoys the
popularity in this section over all its competitors.

In the weekly segment there are nine approved

publications from Guwahati out of which seven are
Assamese publications and one is in English
Language and the other is bi-lingual (Manipuri and
Assamese). But the most popular publication in this
category is a non-approved publication “Saadin”. A
product of Pratidin Group, Saadin enjoys the most
popularity amongst the masses of not only Kamrup
Distrct Metro but all throughout Assam. Apart
from these there are a number of unapproved
publication from Guwahati.

There are two approved fortnightly and five

approved monthly publication from Guwahati. Out
of which Bikalpa is the most popular fortnightly
and Girijani is the most popular Assamese
monthly. Eclectic is one English publication, which
is coming in and taking over the monthly section.
Being an English publication Eclectic transcends
the boundaries of language and has gained
immense popularity in not only Guwahati but
across the Northeast region. Along with Eclectic
there are others who also have ventured into the
space of indigenous English monthlies. Reflexion
is one such magazine. There are some who has
started publishing national dailies from Guwahati.
Northeastern Chronicles is the brainchild of such
thinking. It is gaining popularity in the region. Ever
since its inception in September 2009 it has been
regularly circulating more than five thousand
copies in Guwahati competing with major players
like Assam Tribune, The Telegraph,The Sentinel
etc.

Apart from Publishing these News groups also

perform a lot of CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) work. Janambhumi group, which
has been in the print media industry since 1972, has
their own charitable trust naming, Janakalyan. This
Trust looks after the education of the poor and
needy children. They also help IAS aspirant to get
good and free coaching facilities in New Delhi. The
group has been sending 4 to 5 student every year
for coaching. The group bears all the cost of the
student. Agradut group of publication has their
monthly edition for children called “Akani” and it
is doing its bit for showcasing young talents. The
biggest news group Assam tribune does not involve
itself in any CSR activity.

A detail annual circulation data sheet of the

approved publication collected from the Directorate
of Information and Public Relation is being
attached with this report as Annexure I.

Apart from these there are many many

publications, which is circulated in the region from
Guwahati. Some of them are actually more popular
than those of the approved ones. In the category of
monthlies we have many major publication in
Assamese language like Bismoy, Prantik,
Gariyashi, Nandini, Abikol etc. The popularity of
the print media attracts a lot of advertisers and
Space selling is an important job profile in these
agencies, because of which all of them have
established their base in other part of the nation.
 Television
Television industry in Guwahati started with the
advent of Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati in 1982.
But in 2004 the first private player by the name of
Ne TV joined the industry to break Doordarshan’s
monopoly. After which many channels both
informative as well as entertainment channels
joined the fray. Currently the channels, which are
operating in the region from Guwahati, are DDK
Guwahati, Ne TV, Newslive, and DY365 in the
informative/news category and Ne Hi-Fi, Rang in
the entertainment category. DDK Guwahati though
telecast some of the entertainment program but by
and large it deals with informative program.

DDK Guwahati:

Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati is the first and only

major Doordarshan Kendra. The Kendra is
celebrating its Silver Jubilee year. Despite
constraint from many sector the Kendra has made
contribution in the Socio-Economic and Cultural
field, Health and agricultural field, Promoting
awareness for Communal Harmony and National
Integration, creating awareness for Animal welfare,
Environment protection, consumer protection,
Child Development, Women Empowerment etc.
The Kendra has received the best DDK award in
the year of 2008. Apart from this the Kendra has
received many award for excellence in production
and coverage. The Kendra has 79% coverage in
terms of area and 83% coverage of the population.
This well equipped Kendra telecast 66% in-house
programming and 15% commissioned program.

As a public broadcaster, DDK Guwahati telecasts

54% of its program. The rest could be termed as
entertainment program. Assamese is the prime
language of the network, which is about 84%.
Apart from this it also telecast in English, Hindi,
Bodo and other dialects. It regularly telecast
developmental and issue based programs. Some of
which are really popular amongst the masses.

Kalyani is a health magazine programme, which

has been a regular feature of DDK Guwahati since
2002. The programme basically highlights and
provides detail information about water born
diseases, Iodine deficiency and other illness like
TB, malaria, HIV/AIDS and cancer control etc. It
also focuses on mother’s health and childcare. It is
telecasted four days a week at 6:30 is one of the
most popular program of the network.

A report by Audience Research unit on Kalyani is

attached as Annexure II.
Agricultural Program is a programme telecasted
in collaboration with the Government of Assam to
assess the impact as well as benefit the farmers.
Telecasted five days a week from Monday to
Friday at 6:00 pm has a great following. It provides
knowledge to the farmers for better farming and
answer to their various queries.

A report by Audience Research Unit on Agriculture

Program is attached as Annexure III.

Programmes for different ethnic groups like Bodo,

Janakristi, Tea Garden prog etc. are frequently
televised in the network.

Amongst other programme Sambhawana, Rupali

Dhou, Manashi, Mukha-Mukhi deserves special
mention.

Apart from these prime time news, the 7 o’clock

news Assamese and 7:15 pm Northeast news in
English, are most popular programme of the
network. This is evident from the fact that the
network charges the most for ads during this time
period.

Though the channel faces new challenges from

other private networks but they are hopeful of
continuing their stay at the top being the most
popular channel of Assam.
Ne TV Network:

Northeast television (Ne TV) is the first private

television channel of the Northeast region. It
connects the eight states under Northeast region as
it telecasts news in 18 different languages of the
region. This well equipped network has reached 42
thousand homes across Northeast. Ne TV today
claims 90 per cent of the C & S penetration in
Assam and about 80 per cent in the remaining
seven states of the region. Where cable does not
exist, they reach out to viewers in the hills through
direct to home (DTH) services. The channel is
therefore available across the country to all
viewers.

The popularity of the channel is evident, as brands

like Nestle, Cadbury, Johnson n Johnson, Frooti,
Ranbaxy, Emami, No-marks, Henko, Hindware,
TVS, Black rose Kali mehendi, Godrej, parachute,
Nutrilla, Boomer and many others have already
tested the channel and became regular advertiser.

The Ne TV network in short span of five years

have accomplished so much, they have their
entertainment channel (Ne Hi-Fi). They have other
channels like Focus TV, Hy TV, Hamar TV etc.,
which is being uplinked from Noida, Hydrabad,
Ranchi respectively.
News Live:
Product of Pride East Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.,
News live is primarily a news channel, which
telecasts news in Assamese and English language.
If one looks at TAM report of last one year they
can see that this news channel has been
consistently maintaining its supremacy. Now they
have launched an entertainment channel namely
Rang. With this they hope to gain foothold in the
entertainment industry of northeast. Content of the
channel is largely English, because of which they
attract and encourage intellectual minds.

DY 365:
The third private player in the television industry in
Northeast is DY365. This channel telecast news in
four different languages – Assamese, English,
Hindi, and Bengali. Content of the channel could
be divided as 65% Assamese and the remaining
time equally divided between other languages.
Emergence of this channel makes the equation of
the television channel interesting.

There are two new private operator is said to enter

the competitive market. This will provide the youth
with new job opportunities as well as the
advertisers more options to choose from.
 Radio
Radio in Guwahati started with the launch of All
India Radio Guwahati station on July 1st 1948. Ever
since then it has been playing a vital role in the
communication of the state. It has been brining
direct information to people across the length and
breath of the state. The FM Radio boom hit the
region in 2007 and since then 4 such networks have
been established in Guwahati.

AIR Guwahati:
AIR Guwahati station was established in 1948. It
has been an instrument for the rural folk to reach
the outer world and cope up with the globalization.
AIR Guwahati has work extensively for upliftment
of the rural sector of the region. It has been
presenting a platform for the local talent to display
their talent. They have a well-defined grade system
through which they grade the artists. Listeners
switch on both for entertainment so as
informational purpose. In the urban area its most
popular programme is the regional news
programme, and then there are those who listens to
the film song programmes.

A detail report by the Audience Research Unit of

the AIR Guwahati is submitted with this report as
Annexure IV.
Radio Ooo La La:
Ne TV networks in 2007 ventured into the FM
Radio space with a peppy and youthful radio
station Radio Ooo La La. This radio network is
available on 91.9 frequency. The network has four
stations across Northeast – Guwahati, Shillong,
Agartala and Itanagar. They have Zubin Garg the
face of Assam in music industry as their brand
ambassador.

Gup-Shup FM:
Another indigenous FM radio station is Gup-Shup
FM. Gup-Shup is available on the frequency 94.3.

RED FM:
A product of the SUN network RED FM has a
station operating from Guwahati. It is available on
frequency 94.5.

Big FM:
Owned by Anil Ambani one of the major business
tycoon of India, Big FM has its Guwahati Station
and it is Available on 92.7 frequency.
 Mobile Theater
Assamese cultures another unique feature is its
mobile theatre groups. These groups move from
town-to-town performing dramas with great
production values. The production set or the stage
in layman’s term is quite breathtaking at times.
There are theatre groups who have remade popular
movies both Hindi as well as English. Kahinoor
Theatre has remade James Cameroon directed
Titanic, which was a production nightmare but to
their credit they pulled it off and it was a huge
success in all across Assam.

Amongst the theatre groups which deserves a

mention are:
Abahan Theatre
Kohinoor Theatre
Hengul Theatre
Rajtilak Theatre
Saraighat Theatre

These theatre groups are a learning school of acting

craft for many of the local artist. Renowned artist
like Jatin Bora, Tapan Das, Mahananda Sharma are
product of Theatre. Along with the rural areas in
the urban zones these theatre are really popular. In
Guwahati several shows are conducted during the
winters.
 Advertising Atmosphere
Advertising in Guwahati is at its infancy. The
advertising requirements of the national players are
fulfilled by the agencies located outside Northeast.
And the local advertisers are not great in numbers.
Thus Audio Visual Ads are not produced
frequently in the region. The Ad agencies like
Sangeeta Advertising used to make ads for
different groups but now the Audio Visual
advertisement requirements have dried up.

The agencies like Delta, Dallas, Leo Advertising

and Rang-Tuli provide for requirements of
hoardings and occasional banners and posters etc.
Space selling is a job, which is more in demand in
the region. Instead of delegating this to the
agencies; it is handled by the news organization
internally.

If well organized the advertising has potential in

the northeastern region. There are ample creative
minds here. Moreover with more industries
establishing in the region and number of TV
channels increasing every year, the advertising
requirement are bound to go up. Thus with the
introduction of little professionalism the
Advertising could be molded as a flourishing
industry.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
 My Observation
In the two weeks I was making the District Media
Profile I was exposed to the complete district
media scenario. After the advent of the Private TV
Channels the enthusiasm level of the people of the
region about media is really high. What these
channels have done is to introduce professional
working in the work culture of Assam. Now other
organizations have imbibed the professionalism
introduced by these media houses.

Media being a glamorous industry have certainly

improved the glamour quotient of the place. Now
musical nights, fashion shows, beauty pageants are
organized on a regular basis. The fashion industry
has certainly got a boost after the recent media
boom. Designers like Dipankar Kashyap and
Kaushik Baruah have been able to fill the gap
between the modern day fashion requirements and
traditional Assamese folk dressings.

Advertising industry has a long way to go. The

current agencies needs to compete with the
agencies in other parts of the country and provide
internationally executed product to the advertisers.
 Conclusion
0

The city of Guwahati has great potential. It is on a

rise. The State Government of Assam projects the
city as the prime destination of Northeast. The
increasing trend of tourists is a testimony to that
fact. It is booming and investors see it as an
untapped proposition. Tough it is at its infancy,
media industry is adopting the professionalism in a
big way. From here there is only one way to go for
the media industry and that way is upwards
direction.
 Bibliography
• Inputs from DPRO Mr. Chirajul Hussain and
Joint Director of Directorate of Information
and Public Relation Mr. B. Bez.
• Inputs from Audience Research Unit of AIR
Guwahati and Audience Research Unit of
DDK Guwahati.
• Inputs from personnel working in news
agencies like Tribune Group, Agradut Group,
Janambhumi Group and TV channels like
DY365, Ne TV and News live.
• Inputs from web sites…
o www.kamrup.gov.in
o www.kamrupmetro.nic.in
o www.netvindia.com
o www.radio-ooolala.com