BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Prothom Alo (First Light), Bangladesh’ most credible and leading Bengali daily, yesterday launched its Middle East edition in collaboration with Dar Al Sharq, becoming the first Bengali newspaper to be published overseas.
It will be published from here every Thursday by Dar Al Sharq Group. It is the 11th international newspaper published by Dar Al Sharq in foreign languages, which include Malayalam, Nepali, Urdu, Sinhala and Tamil.
Initially, the newspaper will be distributed in Qatar and Bahrain and may eventually reach to other GCC countries.
It was launched at Dar Al Sharq’s headquarters by Syed Masud Mahmood Khundoker Bangladeshi Ambassador, Khalid Al Sayed, Editor-in-Chief, The Peninsula, Matiur Rahman, Editor and Publisher, Prothom Alo and Neegal Noronha, Manager, Dar Al Sharq Foreign Publications in the presence of a large number of Bangladeshi community members.
“I do not see it only as the launch of a newspaper, but a bridge connecting the people of Qatar and Bangladesh,” said Khundoker.
“To me it is the launch of a medium for the exchange of language and culture. It will further help deepen and strengthen our excellent bilateral relations.”
Established in November 1998, Prothom Alo attracted international attention when it covered the issue of acid throwing in Bangladesh. In 2000, the newspaper covered a case of a female acid throwing victim who was 15. Rahman, a Magsaysay awardee journalist, used resources of his newspaper to campaign against the practice and pressured the government to promulgate Acid Crimes Prevention Act and Acid Control Act in 2002.
“It is a great moment for me as well as my newspaper. We were dreaming to launch Prothom Alo from outside Bangladesh for a long time.
“Although our online edition is read by our expatriate community in over 200 countries, it is the first time over 200,000 Bangladeshi community in Qatar will have access to the newspaper and read news, including local stories, in their native language.”
Rahman established Prothom Alo’s credibility and increased circulation by exposing government missteps and corruption, as well as human rights violations. Today, it reaches half a million readers, while its online portal (www.prothom-alo.com) is No. 1 Bangladeshi website claiming to have 60 million pageview per month by over 1.6 million visitors from nearly 200 countries.
The Peninsula
