Irrespective of party line, members in the Assembly on Friday urged the State Government to provide Government accommodation, health insurance, pension and other related basic professional facilities to working journalists to enable them to function properly.
During the Zero Hour, the issue of the plight of the scribes in the State, particularly in Bhubanedwar, was raised by the BJP member Jayanarayan Mishra. He said the State Government had provided Government accommodation to NGOs but not to the journalists. He urged the Government to provide Government accommodations to the journalists.
leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh, supporting the BJP member, said journalists were facing a lot of difficulties in their functioning in the State headquarters and are deprived of Government accommodation since the coming of the present State Government in power. Since 2000, the State Government had not provided any quarters to the journalists excepting one or two while Government accommodations had been provided to as many as 85 NGOs.
Stating that Governments of many States, including Chhatisgarh and Tamil Nadu, have provided Government accommodation and pension to journalists, Singh urged the State Government to provide basic facilities for the welfare of the journalists. He also demanded raising the size of the Journalist Welfare Fund. The leader of Opposition also urged Speaker P K Amat to direct the Information and Public Relations Minister to make a statement in the House stating why the Government was depriving the journalists of their benefits.
BJD member Amar Prasad Satpathy said as per reports around 400 Government quarters were lying vacant in Bhubaneswar. But the Government quarters were not being provided to the journalists.
Stating that scribes are working day and night and helping to reach the Government programmes and policies to the people, at least the State Government, recognizing their contribution, should construct a colony for the scribes as is being done in other States. Sharing the members concern, Speaker P K Amat directed the Government to take note of the demands made by the members.