Name and detail of the publisher
Bengal Consortium (s) Pte Ltd.
Company Reg. No: 2005119296
Newspaper Permit No: MICA (P) 141/03/2011
File Ref. No. 200509013: Date: 19.07.2006
Present situation of the publication
Frequency: Bi-monthly
Size: Tabloid
Pages: 24 pages
Circulation number: 5,000
Estimated readership: 35,000
Retail selling price: S$ 1.50 per copy
Source of revenue: Advertisement, retail selling
Journalism coverage
· Socio-economic and political news, views and analysis (Global, Bangladesh & Singapore)
· Business and investment news, views and analysis (Bangladesh & Singapore)
· Entertainment, religion, sports and cultural issues (Global, Bangladesh & Singapore)
· Education and social services
· Arts & literature (Bangladesh and Singapore)
· Health, safety and hygiene issues (Singapore)
· Legal issues and law awareness campaign
· Special treatment on foreign migrant workers
· Community news (Expatriate Bangladeshis and West Bengal people living in Singapore)
· Reader’s pages
Aim and objectives
Since obtaining its license from the MDA Singapore in 2006, Banglar Kantha (The Voice of Bengal) has been continuing as a bi-monthly news magazine for Bengali-speaking readers in Singapore. As of now, it has been the only Bengali publication in Singapore and in the entire Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is a region where as much as half a million Bangladeshi people work as migrant workers in various sectors. In Singapore, the estimated number of Bangladeshi people living is around 120,000. The main objective of Banglar Kantha is to understand the needs, dreams and voices of those people and thereby to obtain a considerable readership in this huge community.
Besides, being a watchdog, Banglar Kantha aspires to become the community voice of expatriate Bangladeshis living in Singapore by facilitating various social services such as advocacies, guidance, cultural campaigns, and organizing events etc. Having done this, Banglar Kantha has been working to strengthen ties among Bangladeshi community and their relations to the host country. As well as, Banglar Kantha has been a strong advocate in visualizing the Bengali language and culture in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural country like Singapore. In coming days, the management of this publication decides to work in the same line.
Banglar Kantha, has over the last several years offered news, sports and entertainment for the Bangladeshi working community, in addition to explaining aspects of the employment act and other laws relating to working and living in Singapore. This is the only such publication in Singapore, including stories by and about the Bangladeshi workers. This enables the workers to preserve and appreciate their own culture and language, while providing them with a framework for integrating into the various ethnicities in Singapore. Contact with their home country and the values and traditions of Bangladesh are as important knowing what to expect and how to behave in Singapore.”
At present there has been 120,000 Bangladeshis living in Singapore. To reach out this huge community, Banglar Kantha has designed a target-oriented sell and circulation plan that has been planned after having careful observation in this field. Different measures can be taken to increase the circulation, such as:
· Contacting key employment-providers and agencies in Singapore so that they ensure the minimum of entertainment of a Bangladeshi migrant worker as per the work contract. According to the most of the job contracts, a migrant worker must be provided, among others, the reading materials for his entertainment and that has to be in their own languages. Banglar Kantha circulation campaign would approach Singapore Contractors Association, and some other big employers (Hyundai, Samsung etc.) which would increase the circulation to a great extent.
· Approching dorm authorities to provide reading materials on a regular basis for their residents who are Bangladeshi workers. This is also another requirement, as suggested by the Singapore Government, to be met by dorm-owners.
· Increasing outlets as selling centre’s of Banglar Kantha and make it available all over in Singapore.
· Pushing sell in all inflights (Dhaka-Singapore).
· Pushing sell in Sundays at Serangoon area.
· Regular earning from fixed subscribers.
PREVIOUS BANGLAR KANTHA NEWSPAPERS (links to be uploaded)
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