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There is a big good news for the journalists of Uttarakhand. The Pushkar Singh Dhami government of the state has gifted a modern media center to the journalists of Kumaon division. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has formally laid the foundation stone of Kumaon Media Center building in Haldwani. This initiative is a historic step towards empowerment of journalists, expansion of modern facilities and further strengthening of the democratic system in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand.

This state-of-the-art media center will be built at a total cost of Rs 6 crore 75 lakh 88 thousand. This center will be developed as a dedicated, well-equipped and multi-purpose center for the journalists of Kumaon division, which will facilitate them in their work and enable them to work in a better environment.

Chief Minister Dhami said in his address that this media center is not just a building, but will be a living platform dedicated to the fourth pillar of democracy i.e. journalism. He said that this center will become a workplace for journalists, where they will be able to discuss and will also become a medium to powerfully express the voice of the people. CM Dhami also said that till now the journalists of Kumaon division had to depend on Dehradun for many important works, but after the construction of this media center, most of the work will be conducted from Haldwani only. This will save both precious time and resources of the journalists and will free them from unnecessary travel.

The building will be equipped with modern facilities

Chief Minister Dhami informed that modern facilities will be developed in this building keeping in mind the modern needs of journalists. Prominent among these will be a modern press conference hall, where journalists can easily broadcast their news and important announcements can be made. Along with this, high-speed internet facility will also be available, so that they can share information faster and face the challenges of the digital age. Arrangements for digital studios will also be made, which will be very useful for multimedia journalism. A rich library will also be a part of this centre, where journalists will be able to research and get information, which will make their news more factual and in-depth.

Apart from these facilities, the media center will also have a canteen and other basic facilities, which will facilitate the daily life of journalists. Arrangements for residential guest rooms will also be made for journalists coming from remote areas like Munsiyari, Bageshwar, Kapkot, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Almora and Ranikhet etc. With this facility, they will get relief from the difficulties of transportation and they will be able to do their work without any hassle, which will promote regional journalism.

The Chief Minister also made an important announcement that the inspection work to newspapers will now be done from this media centre. This step will promote transparency, efficiency and prompt functioning. This will also ease administrative processes for journalists and make their work easier, so that they will not have to make rounds of government offices.

Government fully committed to the welfare and safety of journalists: CM Dhami

Chief Minister Dhami made it clear that the state government is fully committed to the welfare and safety of journalists. He mentioned several important steps taken by the government. The amount of Journalist Welfare Fund has been increased to Rs 5 crore. This amount is providing immediate financial assistance to the families of journalists in case of sudden death or serious illness. Along with this, cashless health insurance facility of up to Rs 5 lakh has also been implemented for approved journalists and their dependents, which will provide them freedom from health worries. Senior journalists above 60 years of age are also being provided a pension of Rs 8000 every month, which will support them in their old age and provide them financial security.

The Chief Minister expressed confidence that this media center will make Haldwani a major media hub of the Kumaon region. The journalism operating from here will play an effective role not only at the regional level but also at the national level. He called upon the journalists to promote positive journalism, take development works to the masses and objectively inform the government wherever there are shortcomings. He stressed that “Your pen is the guide for the government and the biggest power of democracy.”

The Chief Minister also informed that the construction work of Media Center Guest House has already started in Tanakpur of Champawat district, which will provide better facilities to the journalists of marginal areas.

Many special guests were present in the program

Many dignitaries were present on this occasion. These include MP Ajay Bhatt, Cabinet Minister Pradeep Batra, Ram Singh Kaida, District Panchayat President Deepa Darmwal, MLA Sarita Arya, Chairman Media Advisory Committee Uttarakhand Govind Singh, Mayor Haldwani Gajraj Singh, Block Chief Haldwani Manju Gaur, Block Chief Bhimtal Harish Bisht, BJP District President Pratap Singh Bisht, Minister of State in Uttarakhand Government Dr. Anil Kapoor Dabbu, Dhruv Rautela, Dinesh Arya, Suresh Bhatt, Shankar Koranga, Naveen Verma, Deepak Mehra, Dinesh Mancera were included. Apart from these, Director General Information Banshidhar Tiwari, District Magistrate Lalit Mohan Rayal, SSP Dr. Manjunath TC, Chief Development Officer Arvind Kumar Pandey, Deputy Director Information Badrichandra, District Information Officer Girija Shankar Joshi, Information Officer Ahmed Nadeem, Arrangement Officer Rampal, General Manager of Uttarakhand Drinking Water Construction Corporation Kumaon Anoop Kumar Pandey and Project Manager SP Barauni and a large number of administrative officers and journalists. Brothers were present in the programme.

The construction of this Kumaon Media Center will prove to be a milestone in the direction of development of media infrastructure in Uttarakhand. This initiative will provide modern facilities to journalists as well as further strengthen the transparent, accountable and strong democratic system in the state. This historic step is a symbol of the visionary leadership and journalist friendly policies of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, which will take Uttarakhand to new heights in the field of media empowerment in the times to come.