Panj Pani Radio is run by New Dawn Asian Mental Health, which is a registered charity. Panj Pani Radio works in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and broadcasts from a studio in the grounds of The Tower’s Hospital in Leicester.

The original aim of Panj Pani Radio was to increase and promote the awareness of mental health problems within the Asian communities in Leicester and the surrounding area. The content of Panj Pani Radio to date has reflected this commitment, while the partnership with the LPT has seen the station develop programmes for the community in English and other languages. This content has included supporting and promoting information about people’s general health, well being, mental health and learning disabilities.

Panj Pani Radio has also developed a partnership with Citizens’ Eye Community News Agency which is available to all community organizations in Leicester and Leicestershire to disseminate community based information. Citizens’ Eye provides access to community news and information that rarely reaches the local press and has many partners across the city and county including the City and County Council’s, Health bodies and the Police.

These partnerships have provided opportunities to broaden the focus of Panj Pani Radio to support in promoting the Local Area Agreement priorities of both Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council, especially in the aspects of both that apply to healthier communities, safer communities, stronger communities, children and young people and older people.

Panj Pani Radio is dedicated to developing programmes that seek to involve, inform and consult with local people. It aims to work with groups who are considered hard to reach, or whose voices seem underrepresented in the press. These include asylum seekers, ex-offenders and homeless people. It also seeks to provide information, and develop programmes, by and for younger and older people to deliver content that is considered relevant, important and positive. 

An important aspect of Panj Pani is to provide opportunities for broadcasting experience and the development of new programmes with communities across Leicester. It does this by offering a Confidence in Broadcasting course which is funded by the European Social Fund. These courses seek to involve people who have health or mental health issues or to include representatives of communities that are considered hard to reach.