Kathmandu, July 22 : Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada has underscored the need to make investments in the mass media sector transparent so as to contribute to its professional growth.
The minister said this at a discussion held yesterday at the Development and Technology Committee under the House of Representatives regarding the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the sector and the working journalists.
“As the Nepali media sector is moderately affected by the pandemic, the monetary policy for this new fiscal year has announced relief measures such as subsidy loan and time extension for loan repayment targeting it,” he stated adding,”As such, the media houses should not axe the jobs of the working journalists citing the COVID-19 effects .”
The minister also reminded the concept of social security fund is gravitated towards the financial welfare of the working journalists in the country.
He went on saying that the welfare advertisement would be fairly distributed after forming the Advertisement Board soon.
On the occasion, lawmakers Ganesh Pahadi and Jip Tzering Lama said the working journalists should in no way be jobless due to COVID-19. Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) general-secretary Ramesh Bista accused the media houses of expelling journalists from job citing the impact of COVID-19. The media remained insensitive to the creative works of journalists through which they made money and image, he further said.
In addition, Media Society chair Shuvashanker Kandel called for the government providing support to enliven the mass media. Also speaking on the occasion, ACORAB chair Subash Khatiwada, BAN chair Chandra Neupane, Nepal Press Union treasurer Saroj Adhikari and Narendra Saud of Nepal Press Organization raised voiced for the professional safety of working journalists.RSS
