Implement risk insurance scheme for jourlists: MEMA

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Oct 4: A delegation of the Meghalaya Electronic Media Association (MEMA) led by its president, Kyrmenlang Uriah today called on Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, and urged the state government to implement a “Risk Insurance Scheme” and to extend all the welfare schemes to the working video and print jourlists and not to limited those schemes to the accredited jourlists. Stressing on to implement Risk Insurance Schemes for Jourlists, the MEMA president said, it is important so that their families do not suffer economically if “something wrong” happens to them.

He also reminded the Chief Minister on the attacks on jourlists and cameramen belonging to different TV Channels in 2005, 2014 and 2015 and the incident where a cameraman died in an accident at Paikan, Assam last year.

The MEMA President also informed the Chief Minister on the delay in taking legal action against persons responsible in the crime and urged for compensation for the jourlists.

Uriah, meanwhile said that the association support the Meghalaya Editor and Publisher Association (MEPA) demands to enhance the corpus of Jourlist Welfare Fund for Jourlist and that it should not be made into a onetime assistance, to implement the Health Insurance Scheme for Jourlists of Meghalaya, to implement pension scheme for the Jourlists, to speed up in framing the advertisement policy and also to create a single window agency for in the Directorate of Information and Public Relation for clearance of advertisement bills and to set up media centers with internet facilities in all the district headquarters for the benefits of the jourlists serving in such districts.

The Chief Minister told the delegation that he firmly believed that the media should be protected and to provide them with security schemes where a committee will be constituted soon by the state government through the DIPR to work out with the Jourlists Welfare Scheme.

Regarding the attacks on jourlist, the Chief Minister asked MEMA to provide him with all the informations since it is a legal matter.

On the other demands, he has informed the MEMA that the matter had already been taken up for filization.