Soon after DD cameraperson's death, channel shifts operation base

New Delhi

Soon after the national broadcaster lost one of its senior camerapersons, Doordarshan in an internal communique has said that it has decided to shift its partial operations to Delhi's Khel Gaon area.

The communique read, "It has been decided to shift the transmission of DD News for two days from 6 a.m. on May 29, 2020. The FPC involves a Hindi and English live bulletin every two hours. Scroll and Flashes for DD News and DD India will be telecast from CPC. DDG Engineering may do the needful for the transmission arrangements from 6 a.m. onwards from CPC Khel Gaon."

It went on to state that all section heads have been asked to direct all shift staff to report for duty at CPC by 4.30 a.m. for the morning shift. Meanwhile, the evening shift bulletins will be recorded and an employee has been tasked for that purpose, according to the internal communication.

It also instructed to play recorded programmes in case any problem occurs in back-to-back live bulletins, due to the new arrangements.

While Doordarshan hasn't come on record as to why it has been forced to make this change, the immediacy of the decision soon after the death of one of its senior camerapersons hasn't gone unnoticed.

Prasar Bharati tweeted on Thursday: "Prasar Bharati Parivar mourns the sad demise of Sh. Yogesh Kumar, Video Journalist, @DDNewslive, Delhi. Shri Kumar was 53 and had served Doordarshan for over 2 decades. Our Prayers to his family and colleagues at this difficult moment."

Its CEO Shashi Shekhar too retweeted the tweet.

The cause of Kumar's death is unknown. However, a WhatsApp message circulated by DD employees said that he died due to heart attack. He was taken to the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh where he was declared dead.

DD's internal communication has given department specific instructions like the production team has been asked to ensure they take a bleary disc with promo fillers and News Night montages, while the graphics team has been instructed to put firing machines at designated places by 5 a.m. in the morning. Similarly, specific directions have been given for anchors and camera sections as well.

However, what raises eyebrows was the mention of arranging additional transportation facilities for its employees. "Since the teams will be working in shifts in CPC, the transport section must make arrangements for additional vehicles for the teams going to CPC," the directive read.