IJU: Treat journos as frontline warriors

Basheerbagh: Indian Journalists Union (IJU), the largest representative trade union body of journalists in the country has appealed to the Central Government to treat journalists as frontline warriors in the fight against corona virus and enable them to get vaccine on priority basis.

In a statement issued on Sunday IJU President and Secretary General K Sreenivas Reddy and Balwinder Singh Jammu welcomed the decision of the Government to provide vaccine to people free of cost at all Government hospitals and pegging cost of vaccine in private hospitals at as little as Rs 250 a dose.

Drawing the government's notice to the fact that hundreds of journalists in the line of duty across the country had succumbed to the dreaded virus, the IJU leaders said that without the contribution of journalists in the field the fight against the pandemic would not have succeeded the way it did in India.

Reporting from ground zero made journalists vulnerable like other frontline warriors and in view of the fact the fight has still a long way to go, it is the duty of the Government to provide the working journalists with vaccine shield.

The IJU leaders urged the Central government to issue suitable instructions to governments of all the States and the Union Territories to give priority jab to journalists.

The announcement of the Centre last year through PIB that families of journalists who died due to Covid 19 would be given an assistance of Rs 5 lakh under the Journalist Welfare Scheme was a welcome step, the IJU leaders said. But the scheme largely went unnoticed for lack of adequate publicity.

The leaders urged the government to arrange proper publicity to the scheme through Information departments of the states so that eligible families of journalists can avail the benefit.