Dhami administers oath to newly elected executive of U’chal Press Club
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 7 Jan: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected executive body of the Uttaranchal Press Club, Parade Ground, here, today. On this occasion, he administered the oath of office to the Uttaranchal Press Club Executive. The Chief Minister said that action would be taken at a higher level by the Director General, Information, Banshidhar Tiwari on construction of a new building, guest house and library of the Club. A committee would also be set up to give recognition for life to the journalists of the state who were active during the Uttarakhand statehood movement. He further promised that work would also be done on providing U Health cards for journalists.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister reminded that journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy. Journalists have an important role as the mirror of society. Along with social, political, economic and other aspects, work on bringing forward the problems of common people through their writing is being done by journalists. He said that efforts have been made by the state government to provide all possible cooperation to journalists. Last year, an increase in the pension of journalists by 60 percent was announced. It was also stated that help would be provided to journalists coming from different districts for their stay in the state capital through the Information Department. Under the Chief Minister’s Journalist Pension Scheme, an increase of Rs 2 crores has been made in the Journalists’ Welfare Fund, due to which an assistance amount of Rs 36 lakhs has been approved for dependent journalists and those seriously ill.
Dhami added that media plays an important role in making the schemes of the government accessible to the general public. In times of crisis, journalists work shoulder to shoulder with the government and the public like brave soldiers. Media also plays an important role in making people aware of unknown aspects of any issue. He said that the state government is trying to make Uttarakhand a leading state of the country by 2025. This would be done with the cooperation of all the people of the state. He asserted that the media would also have to play an important role in the overall development of the state. All journalists are expected to contribute to the development of the state with the power of their pen.
Press Club President Ajay Singh Rana expressed gratitude to all the guests on the occasion. The programme was conducted by Club General Secretary Vikas Gusain.
Director General, Information, Banshidhar Tiwari, Founder President of Uttaranchal Press Club Dr Devendra Bhasin, Treasurer Manish Chandra Bhatt, General Secretary Vikas Gusain, Senior Vice President Rashmi Khatri, Junior Vice President Darban Singh, Auditor Manoj Jayada, Executive Members Dayashankar Pandey, Praveen Bahuguna, Bhagwati Prasad Kukreti, BS Topwal, Mohd Faheem Tanha, Mangesh Kumar, Ram Anuj, Laxmi Bisht, Vinod Pundir, outgoing Club President Jitendra Anthwal, Devendra Sati, Chetan Gurung, Darshan Singh Rawat, Bhupendra Kandari, Surendra Singh Arya, former General Secretary Subhash Gupta, Sanjay Ghildial, Giridhar Sharma and other senior members were among those present.
