The Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ) submitted a list of demands to chief minister Pramod Sawant during a pre-budget meeting held at Mantralaya in Porvorim on Friday.
The GUJ delegation led by president Rajtilak Naik and general secretary Vasudev Pagi explained in detail various demands before handing over the list to the chief minister. Director, Department of Information and Publicity, Dipak Bandekar was also present.
The six demands submitted to the government include:
1: BOOK PUBLISHING SCHEME: A dedicated scheme for full-time working journalists/ registered news publication houses encouraging them to publish their own work in book form. Books can be published only on journalism related data/ academic topics. No poetry, novel, story or any related topic books will be entertained or published.
2: HOUSING: Housing for full-time working journalists (subsidised loans to purchase or build residential space).
3: EX-GRATIA/ INSURANCE: One of the most popular schemes of the Goa government for journalists was the Ex-Gratia scheme. In case of death of an on-duty working journalist, an amount of Rs. 5,00,000/- was paid to the family of the deceased journalist. The scheme has been discontinued. The scheme should be re-started with desired modifications with an enhanced amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- or more.
4: ANNUAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME: An annual exchange programme for GUJ members to visit other states in the country and interact with journalist associations and the state Information Departments with an aim to understand the working of the respective journalists’ bodies, culture/ history of the state concerned and the role of the state media in nation building.
5: ANNUAL GRANT FOR GUJ WELFARE: An annual grant of Rs. 5,00,000/- towards welfare of GUJ members and organizing various events for journalists in the state of Goa which includes GUJ Journalism Awards (13 categories), educational workshops, field trips etc.
6: PATRAKAR KAKSH IN THE CAPITAL CITY: As a follow-up to the announcement by the Chief Minister during the 46th GUJ Foundation Day and GUJ Journalism Awards ceremony held on July 26, 2023, a full-fledged Patrakar Kaksh for the members of the Goa Union of Journalists and other working journalists in the Capital city of Panaji. The existing Press Room at the Old Secretariat continues to remain closed despite several requests made to the Department of Information and Publicity. The Patrakar Kaksh should be fully equipped with computers (at least three machines) with internet connectivity, daily newspapers (both local and national), popular monthly magazines (local and national), drinking water and tea facility be made available to journalists. Till the journalist fraternity in the state gets its independent ‘Patrakar Bhavan’, the proposed Patrakar Kaksh will be an area of focus for all the working and senior journalists in the state of Goa.
The Chief Minister has assured GUJ that the demands will be fulfilled.
Goa Union of Journalists