Nabarangpur, 14th Aug 2025: The newly appointed District Collector of Nabarangpur, Dr. Maheshwar Swaim, was felicitated by the Odisha Journalists’ Union (OJYU), Nabarangpur district branch. On this occasion, the union submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister through the Collector.
The memorandum requested several measures, including:
Increasing the government aid for journalists from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
Providing free travel for journalists in government buses.
Enacting a law for journalists’ safety.
Introducing pension benefits for journalists after the age of 60.
Constructing a “Journalist Bhavan” in Bhubaneswar with accommodation facilities for visiting district journalists.
Establishing press clubs in every district.
Including journalists’ parents under the Gopabandhu Health Insurance scheme.
Additionally, the meeting discussed various district-level issues such as:
Construction of a press club in Nabarangpur.
Widening of city roads.
Declining girl-to-boy ratio.
Child trafficking issues.
Problems of migrant laborers.
Health care shortcomings.
The meeting also addressed broader concerns about protecting the “Fourth Pillar of Democracy” and improving the welfare of journalists in Odisha.
OJYU District President Shiv Shankar Tripathy, State Organizational Secretary Bank Bihari Bishoyi, State Vice President Rakesh Gupta, District Organizational Secretary Benu Gopal Rao, Advisor Purna Chandra Mahapatra, Tapan Kumar Pattnayak, Sujit Rath, Srihari Bishoyi, Papu Pattnayak, Bhabani Shankar Panda, Ram Prasad Bishoyi, and others attended the event and took part in the discussions.