Photojournalists have risked their lives during Telangana struggle: Harish Rao

Hyderabad: Lauding the efforts of photojournalists for putting Telangana struggle on the map, Finance Minister T Harish Rao felt that the pictures captured during the movement speaks volumes about the way lensemen risked their lives. He affirmed these pictures would inspire generations to come, as they stand testimony to struggle in realising the dream of separate Statehood.

While handing over awards to photojournalists as part of World Photography Day celebrations by Telangana Photojournalists Association at Ravindra Bharati, Harish Rao underscored that journalists took active part in the 14 year long Telangana struggle which was unseen in any other part of the world. “History is written and created by journalists and writers and they show direction to future generations. Journalists played a key role in the Telangana struggle. They faced lathis and brought to light situations like being in a State of under siege. Telangana society will not forget the bravery, as photojournalists took pictures by risking their lives,” he said.

While emphasising how the Telangana government was committed for the welfare of the journalists, the Minister reminded about the corpus fund of Rs 100 crore was announced earlier and provision of finance support to families of those who lost their lives during Covid. He claimed that the government had spent over 32 crores while benefiting 22,000 journalists under Aarogyasri. Harish Rao also assured that the profession of photojournalists will be reflected in Government issued Accreditation Cards, which otherwise was printed as ‘photographer’.