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Khabar Lahariya(KL) is a weekly rural newspaper written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of women – most of them from marginalised Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities. The first edition was printed in 2002 in Chitrakoot in Bundeli language and in 2012 the sixth edition in Varanasi in Bhojpuri was launched. Nirantar, a centre for gender and education in New Delhi, started the newspaper, which was initially seen as a women-only publication, even though it covers political news, crime reports, social issues and entertainment. Khabar Lahariya, which means waves of change in Bundeli carries news that is primarily of interest to its rural readership, supplemented with some national and international news.

The newspaper has five active editions in Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba Sitamarhi (Bihar) and Lucknow. The eight-page paper has special editions which can go upto 12 pages on some days. It has a print run of almost 5,000 copies, and a readership of over 25,000 in over 400 villages. . The weekly launched its website Khabarlahariya.org in Mumbai on 13th February 2013 and already has a huge following on Twitter and Facebook. In March 2004, Khabar Lahariya received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award – an annual award for outstanding women journalists from Media Foundation, New Delhi. In 2009, it won international recognition by being awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, a prize honoring outstanding contribution to literacy.

History
The genesis of Khabar Lahariya is rooted in the newspaper Mahila Dakiya (MD) and goes back to the mid - nineties in what was then called Banda district as a part of a village program known as Mahila Smakhya (MS). Mahila Dakiya was very successful, and proved its aim of women employment. The newspaper broke all barriers of female stereotypes and proved that women were no less than men.

By the year of 1995, MD became a well established broadsheet for women having their own space to voice their opinions but due to financial insecurities the newspaper had to stop its publication in 1999. This was not the death of MD as it was taken forward by Nirantar a Delhi based NGO which works on gender and knowledge, in 2002.

Teams
The various Districts wherein Khabar Lahariya are published are Chitrakoot Banda Sitamarhi Lucknow Mahoba Banaras

Reporting
KL reporters are responsible for covering stories from far flung districts, tehsils and villages. Absence of Phones,fax or email and barely any roads or public transportation. Initially the newspaper reported stories which had a feminist context, this narrowed down their target readers as men thought that KL was a women's issue newspaper .The reports thought it was time to change, hence issues of politics, entertainment, economic issues and all current issues were written about in the newspaper.

Today KL has a total of six editions across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Each edition consists of eight pages

Production
Khabar Lahariya has a weekly production cycle. After a meeting to plan the issue, the reporter chalk down their stories and are set out to the villages to get their news. Mid way through the production cycle, they hold a day long editorial meeting at which stories being pursued are discussed and editorial content is decided.A few days later they meet at the KL office and sit through a an intensive meeting wherein they proofread the articles, photo selection, newspaper design and other important things are discussed. After this one of the women takes the newspaper to Allahabad (the nearest big city) which is 100 kms away for printing. After two days the newspaper is published and ready for distribution.

Distribution
Once the paper goes to print, they double up as marketing agents and distribute it to their 80,000 readers in 700 villages. Priced at Rs 2, Khabar Lahariya gets very little advertising, even from regional brands. Village pradhans, block-level officers, small shopkeepers and businessmen put in a few ads paying between Rs 200 and Rs 5,000. This poses a challenge to Khabar Lahariya’s sustainability — each edition costs about Rs 20 lakh a year, but only about Rs 96,000 is generated in circulation and ad revenues.

Impact
Krishan, who looks after printing in Allahabad and travels the distance from her village every two weeks to get the job done, said: Our stories have resulted in roads being built and the chief medical officer taking notice when an entire village in the region was infected with Tuberculosis..