Artists demand better amenities, revival of DD Kashmir

Scores of artists and freelance filmmakers in Kashmir today staged a street play here in protest against the "pathetic" condition of the fraternity and demanded rejuvenation of DD Kashmir channel.
Directors, producers and several other artists, many of whom were dressed in traditional Kashmiri attire, staged the play at Press Colony here and mocked at the government and its policies in connection with Doordarshan Kendra, Srinagar, and DD Kashmir through their 'nukkad natak'.
The artists said that they have been trying to persuade the quarters concerned to rejuvenate the channel and address the concerns of the fraternity, but every effort gets "sabotaged by some hidden lobby".

"We decided to stage this play to highlight the pathetic condition of art, artists and the (DD Kashmir) channel which will be exhibited in every corner of the Valley in the coming days," Zameer Ashai, chairman of Television Professionals United Forum (TPUF), said.
The artists demanded that DD Kashmir be headed by a full-fledged director in place of an assistant station director.
"TPUF has several demands which include -- clearing of backlog against the programmes dished out to freelancers from time to time by DDK Srinagar since 2008 on priority basis and budget allocation to DDK, Srinagar, which has been slashed down by 90 per cent," Ashai claimed.