BBC Bangla radio broadcast to stop after 81 years

 
The BBC Bangla radio broadcast, the most reliable source of news during the years leading up to the Liberation War of 1971 and later, is going to be discontinued after 81 years.

BBC Bangla radio will broadcast two closing Bengali programs titled "Probaho" and "Porikroma" tonight at 7: 30 pm and 10 pm Bangladesh time. The programs will be anchored by Manosi Barua in London and Akbar Hossain in Dhaka.

The station's broadcast in other languages, including Arabic, Persian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Hindi, Chinese, Indonesian, Tamil, and Urdu, will also stop by early 2023.

The decision comes as part of the BBC World Service's plans to accelerate its digital offering and increase impact with audiences around the globe, while adhering to austerity measures.

"High inflation, soaring costs, and a cash-flat License Fee settlement have led to tough choices across the BBC, and the its international services need to make a saving of £28.5m, as part of the wider £500m of annual savings and reinvestment to make the [a] BBC digital-led [platform]," the BBC announced on Friday.

Agriculture Minister Dr. Abdur Razzaque has said that he was saddened to learn that BBC is going to shut down its Bengali radio broadcast. On the other hand, Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has referred to the decision to discontinue BBC Bengali radio broadcast as an unacceptable one. The decision will also cause closures of around 382 posts.

This, however, comes as a shock to the long-time BBC listeners. Salahuddin Dolar of Rajshahi, who started listening to the BBC Bangla when he was an eighth grader in 1994, said he not only listened to the radio but also wrote letters every month and actively attended various listeners' events.

"BBC Bangla was the major source of knowledge on the national and global political, economic and social events. BBC has been close to all public exam candidates."

He said though the BBC Bangla program will be heard online, not all people, especially in the rural areas, can avail smart-phones or internet. "I would request the British authorities to continue the radio service."

BBC Bangla radio broadcast began with a 15-minute weekly program on October 11, 1941 and launched its website in 2005.

It proposed seven more language services move to digital only, modelling the success of others, which are already offering purely digital services and performing well with audiences. This means that nearly half of all 41 language services will be digital only.

Journalist-researcher Afsan Chowdhury, who worked for BBC Bangla, said BBC was always the most important radio service to Bangladeshis even before 1971, but during Liberation War, it became the ultimate radio platform that everyone turned to.

While Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro was representative of the Bangladesh movement, BBC provided accurate news and international support. It signified the global nature and support for the war, he wrote on an online news portal.

It was after 1971, under an independent flag, that saw the reputation of the BBC grow. "... the hunger for information was satisfied mostly by the BBC broadcast, along with other foreign outlets."

He further said, "All good things do come to an end when the time comes and the wheels of change will bring forth new media forms and content, which will all be welcomed. But the memory of BBC Bangla radio will live on."

The BBC has decided to discontinue radio broadcast in 10 languages including Bangla in a bid to save £28.5 million annually.

The BBC has proposed the closure of about 382 posts at the World Service.

Therefore radio broadcasts in 10 languages involving Arabic, Persian, Chinese and Bengali will cease, the BBC said.

In order to "increase impact with audiences" many language services will be shifted online even though these services will not close.
The BBC is also making broad annual savings of £500m, with CBBC and BBC Four being moved online.

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries in January declared their license fee would be frozen at £159 for two years.

The corporation then added they have been led to tough choices due to rising inflation and costs.

It added that the World Service plans are part of its tactic to create a "modern, digital-led and streamlined organization".

The other radio services that will come to an end are Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Hindi, Indonesian, Tamil, and Urdu.

Chinese, Gujarati, Igbo, Indonesian, Pidgin, Urdu, and Yoruba are the languages that will be shifted to online-only.