Assam: Non-Inclusion of Late Journalists Names in PIB List of Beneficiaries Raise Concern

GUWAHATI: The Guwahati Press Club is concerned that the names of journalists who died as a result of Covid19 are not listed in the PIB list of recipients of the Journalist Welfare Scheme.

The Guwahati Press Club's general secretary, Sanjoy Ray, and president, Manoj Kr Nath, sent a letter to Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, demanding that he look into the matter.

The Guwahati Press Club wrote to Thakur, "Our attention has been drawn to the written statement given on the floor of the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2021, where it was stated that a sum of Rs 6.5 crore has been sanctioned under the Journalist Welfare Scheme for the year 2021-22." 

"Families of 123 journalists who perished as a result of COVID 19 were each granted Rs 5 lakh in funding, which is a commendable move," it said, citing potential applications from around the country from the Press Information Bureau (PIB). "However, to to our surprise and disappointment, the list of beneficiaries does not include journalists from Assam, for reasons associated with the PIB, which is presumed to have compiled the list," the letter added. The Assamese media community, according to the Guwahati-based news organisation, is trying to comprehend this. The news organisation said that "Journalists from Assam, too, lost their lives during the outbreak." The Guwahati Press Club has asked the Union minister to "look into the situation" and make certain that "no journalist from Assam, or for that matter anywhere in the country, is kept out of the reach of the law." 

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