ct Mukta Kantha to launch in Delhi on December 27

Weekly compact Mukta Kantha to launch in Delhi on December 27  December 21, 10 Nitin Pandey

Hindi weekly compact newspaper Mukta Kantha is set to hit Delhi newsstands on December 27, 2010. The newspaper, which is being relaunched after nearly 25 years, will be priced at Rs 2 and will carry 8-12 pages every week. Anami Sharan Babal is the editor of the newspaper. Mukta Kantha was launched in the year 1965 in Bihar by Shankar Dayal Singh, a well-known writer from Aurangabad (Bihar). After operating for more than 20 years, in 1986, the newspaper had to shut down its printing. Now, after its relaunch, the newspaper will begin with an initial print run of 1,000 copies and will target Delhi and Bihar markets initially. Speaking on the content strategy of the newspaper, Babal said, “We would like to update our readers with all leading weekly news. The tagline: ‘Chaulpal Se Sansad Tak’, itself depicts that we will carry content that readers of every class can relate to.” The newspaper is not targeting any advertising revenue as of now. “We would like to spread our wings in the neighbouring states and will soon launch a weekly magazine, too, which will carry media news as well,” Babal added. Hindi weekly newspaper domain has seen a couple of new launches in recent days. It may be recalled that recently, Hindi compact newspaper Samay Saransh was launched in the Delhi market to cater to readers of neighbouring states. Post its launch, Mukta Kantha will compete not only with Samay Saransh, but with two-year old weekly compact Chauthi Dunia as well.