Cameron hails Sikh TV channel's coverage

London, Aug 11 (PTI) Prime Minister David Cameron on
Thursday hailed the contribution of Sangat TV, a
Birmingham-based channel, in dealing with the riots, and said
its coverage was an example of a media company's commitment to
social responsibility.
Run primarily on donations, the community channel that
mainly broadcasts in Punjabi, came in for fulsome praise from
Cameron in response to a question from Indian-origin
Conservative MP, Paul Uppal, during the special session of
House of Commons on Thursday.
The channel has emerged as the unlikely hero of the
ongoing unrest in Britain with live coverage of events that
includes showing the channel's correspondents helping the
police tackle rioters.
Indian-origin presenter Upinder Randhawa's sensitive
coverage in which he expresses his own disgust at the rioting
in Birmingham, has captured the imagination of viewers in
Birmingham and beyond.
Major broadcasters such as BBC and Sky News have been
carrying Sangat TV feeds prominently, while viewers have
expressed much appreciation of its live coverage that is
driven by the objective of ensuring that normalcy returns to
the streets of Birmingham.
Launched in September 2010, the channel is owned by
charity organisation Sangat Trust and is supported by
donations from gurdwaras and individuals across the UK.
Most of its programming is in Punjabi and includes
"gurbani" and educational programming.