Sonada, India – December 2024 - The first community radio station located in a college in the hills of Darjeeling, near Sonada, celebrated its ninth birthday with its listeners, belonging to remote villages scattered among the tea plantations. Operated by the "Salesian College Autonomous Sonada", Radio Salesian is an initiative of the Salesians of Kolkata, the only community radio run by the Salesians in the South Asia Region and is aimed at the inhabitants of the villages in the Darjeeling hills and the community of university students. Radio Salesian 90.8 FM celebrated its ninth birthday with a cake cutting ceremony led by listeners of the Marma Tea Estate. The event saw a joyful gathering of older listeners and passionate supporters of the station. Radio Salesian was represented by radio journalists (RJ), including the Director of the Sameer Chettri program, along with RJ Moses Tamang, Pratap Rai, Wang Lama and Bandana Lohagun, whom the listeners present congratulated. The station's only female RJ, Miss Bandana Lohagun, said: "This celebration has strengthened the bond between Radio Salesian and its community of listeners, highlighting the station's continuous commitment to involving its audience and being its public voice".