This Article is From Mar 08, 2011

Reprieve for BBC Hindi service

London: After protests and signature campaigns against the proposed closure of the Hindi Service, the BBC today said it will continue a one-hour evening broadcast in Hindi for another year while it explores alternative funding options.

Several leading journalists and individuals opposed the closure of the Hindi service as part of the BBC's cost-cutting plans. The service was to close on March 31 but has now been allowed another year.

The BBC World Service says it has been approached by a number of commercial parties about alternative funding for the service. But if no alternatives were found, the service will then close in March 2012.

The campaign was supported by writers such as Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and broadcaster Mark Tully. Campaigners said BBC Hindi broadcasts have 10 million listeners, many of them in rural areas in India.

The Hindi service was started in 1940, and gained a large listenership at a time when India's news media were state controlled.
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