Sakaal Media Group, one of the leading media groups in India on Sunday (November 30) ended the Delhi operations of Sakaal Times, an English daily brought out by the group. Though the staffs have alleged that they did not have any prior-information about the move, the group’s management, however, denied the charge. 

The staffs who came in to work on Sunday morning found the office closed with a notice on the main door reading: “The editorial work carried out at Delhi is no longer required to be continued.”

Blaming the market-crisis, editorial director of Sakal Papers Anand Agashe told a news agency that the overall market crash has entailed drastic cut-downs and therefore, the operations of the Sakaal Times’ Delhi bureau have been suspended for the time-being. Agashe refused to comment further on the decision as “the decision was taken by the administration”.

There were around 70 employees, including editorial staff, who camped at the gate for several hours, angry over the management’s decision to close down the Delhi operations a mere six months since Sakaal Times was launched on May 7 this year.

The employees in Delhi, meanwhile, instantly constituted an action committee to protest the lock-out. Sakaal Times is published from Pune while the group also runs a popular Marathi daily, Sakal.