Imphal, December 28: Adding a feather in its cap, the Regional News Unit, All India Radio, Imphal Station has been awarded the first prize in the category, 'Best Regional News Unit' in the Akashvani Awards for 2005. Informing this in a statement, the RNU, Air Imphal said it was adjudged the best from among the forty five and odd Regional News Units of the All India Radio spread all over the country.

The Award Selection Committee in its final meeting on December 15 this year scrutinised the performance of the Regional News Units of AIR and selected the RNU, Imphal on the basis of its outstanding performance in 2005.

(L to R) M Kanankr, BB Sharma and Th Kumar

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi will present the award to the head of RNU, AIR Imphal, BB Sharma on January 7 at Kolkata during the Akash-vani Annual Award, 2005. This is the first time the award is being given and by bagging the prestigious title, RNU, AIR Imphal has touched a milestone of excellence.

Apart from winning the best title, RNU Imphal is looking ahead with some path breaking programmes.

To enable the people to get the latest information, the Imphal unit of the RNU, AIR is ready to introduce the hi-tech 'News on Phone' programme soon.

Talking to newsmen at the conference hall of AIR station today, Assistant Station Director M Kanankumar, Head of the Engineering cell of AIR, Th Kumar and Head of RNU, AIR, Imphal BB Sharma said that the News on Phone programme is being taken up in collaboration with the BSNL.

Any caller wanting to hear the latest update of current news simply has to dial 125800 for Manipuri bulletin and 125900 for the English bulletin.

A caller will be given 30 seconds per call to hear the latest information, he said and added that each line can accommodate thirty callers at a time.

This means that sixty callers can at the same ring up the said numbers at hear the latest news.

The news will be updated according to the need of the time and the availability of hot news.

The News on Phone programme is currently available at cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Delhi.

To expand this facility, 11 new centres were chosen and Imphal and Guwahati are the only two centres from the North East to be included in the new list.

The call to the News on Phone service will not be toll free and the proceeds from the calls will be split between the AIR and BSNL.

Calls can also be made from mobile phones by using the code number 0385.

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