E-Paper
SGPC mulls interim arrangement for Gurbani telecast from Golden Temple on TV
A day after Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee announced the launch of its YouTube channel for the live telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple, the apex Sikh body is now mulling ways to continue the relay on satellite TV, which has a much bigger audience.
A day after Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) announced the launch of its YouTube channel for the live telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple, the apex Sikh body is now mulling ways to continue the telecast on satellite TV, which has a much bigger audience.
On Saturday, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said that it would not be renewing its contract with the PTC channel and instead will launch a YouTube channel, available on various social media platforms, for a telecast of Gurbani on July 24.
Dhami also said that the SGPC was also working on launching its satellite channel and a letter has been written to the Union minister of information and broadcasting.
But a day later it has emerged that till the issue of launching a satellite channel is resolved, SGPC wants to continue telecast on TV.
An official privy to the development said many devotees have no access to the internet or social media.
“This has forced the SGPC to think about ways to continue the telecast of the Gurbani on TV till its channel is launched. It could take three months and the need was felt for an interim arrangement,” an official said.
SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said discussions are being held on these lines and soon the matter will be resolved.
“The SGPC is working to resolve this issue. A meeting of SGPC will be held on this issue, during which decision will be taken about making arrangements for same,” Grewal said.
The above-quoted official, who didn’t wish to be named, said the SGPC might urge the existing vendor, PTC channel, to continue the telecast even after the expiry of the agreement for a few months till the setup of its channel is in place.
Another row erupts
Another row has erupted with SGPC’s decision to telecast Gurbani on YouTube with Congress leader and former deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa objecting to the hiring of production service for the telecast even though SGPC has clarified that the arrangement is for three months for which it will pay ₹12 lakh per month.
In a tweet on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Randhawa alleged that the CEO of the company hired for production is close to the Badal family, which also holds a stake in the PTC channel.
“Has he (Randhawa) any proof what he is saying?” Grewal said.
He made it clear that proper procedure was followed while hiring the service after getting quotations from different companies.
YouTube channel’s name changed
The name of the web channel to be launched by the SGPC for the Gurbani broadcast on July 24 will be “Sachkhand Sri Darbar Sahib, Sri Amritsar”. Earlier, it was decided to name it “Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib, Sri Amritsar,” but now the name has been changed according to the suggestions of the community.
