Nabarangpur: Even after eight months of the new government taking office in Odisha, no concrete steps have been taken to fulfill the three-point legitimate demands of journalists. The promises made have remained unfulfilled. The Odisha Union of Journalists (OUJ) has been continuously urging the state government to implement security measures for journalists, establish a pension system, and ensure official recognition for journalists. Although the government had assured action on these demands, they remain unmet to date.
Meanwhile, 18 states in the country have already introduced pension schemes for journalists, but Odisha lags far behind in this regard. Therefore, today, the Nabarangpur district branch of the Odisha Journalists’ Union submitted a demand letter addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi through Nabarangpur District Collector Dr. Subhankar Mahapatra.
During the submission of the demand letter, several prominent members of the union were present, including District President Sushant Kumar Behera, General Secretary Chidananda Sahu, Treasurer Khageswar Mahankud, Vice President Phalguni Patra, along with Chandrasekhar Jena, Maheshwar Behera, Munna Dalei, Shibashankar Padhi, Shibprasad Panda, Gautam Agrawal, Chidananda Sahu, Simadri Pattnaik, and Nanda Kumar Bishoi, among many others from the OUJ.