He, however, refused to comment on whether Tara Punjabi could carry Sagar TV's logo alone on its channel. "I can't comment on contractural agreements between Tara and Thaicom," he said. Sources saidBroadcast Worldwide, which runs the Tara group of regional language channels, has defaulted on payments to Thaicom. The outstanding payment was for around six months, the source added. Mr Basu was not available for comment. Tara Punjabi will air the Gurbani kirtan from 2:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the evening. "We have an exclusive arrangement for one year with Sagar TV to telecast the Gurbani kirtan. We have been promised Gurbani software from across the world," Ms Ahluwalia said. Tara Punjabi plans to telecast live the Gurbani kirtan as soon as it starts uplinking from India.

The channel hopes to win audiences across the globe. "The Gurbani software will open up a lot of avenues. We are planning to go to Canada and the US," said Ms Ahluwalia. The channel, which has six hours of original programming a day, is planning to do away with repeat shows. "We are rescheduling our programmes. We plan to increase our original programming," said Ms Ahluwalia. Tara and Sagar TV are working out the commercial terms of the deal. "We are providing a platform to Sagar TV to air the Gurbani kirtan. They will have to cover their costs. We are working out on how much air-time they will require to sell," said Ms Ahluwalia. Sagar TV director Mr Chandoke confirmed that the deal with Tara was on. "But we do not have the rights to Gurbani from Golden Temple," he said. ETC Punjabi signed an agreement with former Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur in September, 2000, to exclusively telecast Gurbani kirtan live from the Golden Temple for 11 years. ETC Networks isplanning to take its two channels, ETC and ETC Punjabi, overseas. The coveted Gurbani rights from the Golden Temple would help the Network to sell its channels as a pay bouquet, media analysts said.