TMC MP wants pool of cricket commentators led by Harsha Bhogle on Akashvani

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Nadimul Haque on Monday lamented that cricket commentary on Akashvani (All India Radio) is losing sheen, and suggested that the public broadcaster should create a pool of commentators, preferably led by Harsha Bhogle, to make it engaging and help revive the great tradition.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Haque said India has a great tradition of cricket commentary on the radio but this government is killing that tradition.

He noted that the BCCI and channels do not give radio rights to Akashvani and the broadcaster also does not send its commentators to the match venue citing lack of funds.

On top of that, one cannot hear cricket commentary on the medium wave, but only on FM radio or via an app.

"There is a huge potential for Akashvani to create good content and reach larger audiences by producing world-class cricket commentary," he said while suggesting several measures for the government to adopt.

He suggested having dedicated channels for each language as having Hindi and English commentators for the commentary as a pair is "the surest way to kill good radio commentary".

The TMC MP further said the public broadcaster should create a pool of top-notch commentators, and "appoint Harsha Bhogle as the captain of a new team whose task would be to make Indian radio cricket commentary world-class".

AIR’s home service comprises 591 stations across the country, reaching nearly 90% of the country’s area and 98 per cent of the total population.

In his Zero Hour mention, Pramod Tiwari (Cong) expressed concern over sale of fake and spurious medicines in the market and made a case for creating public awareness in this regard.

He also asked the government to ensure the quality of medicines in the market as it affects millions of people.

Sanjay Singh (AAP) highlighted the problems faced by sick workers of Coal India Limited.

Pointing out that the medical board in the public sector company was functional as a result dependents of sick workers were not able to get jobs on compassionate grounds.

Kartikeya Sharma (Ind) raised the problems that farmers in Morni hills areas in Haryana face because of wild animals.

Sanjay Seth (BJP) raised the problems of medical insurance policyholders, saying in many cases their claims are rejected by insurers.

He said there is a nexus between insurers and hospitals as the cost of treatment increases substantially the moment hospitals come to know that the patient is insured.

Debashish Samantaray (BJD) demanded that the day of Puri Rath Yatra should be declared as a national holiday.