Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Sunday said that the government has taken a decision to provide assistance to 2,000 more journalists as part of its financial assistance to the newsmen to help them tide over their problems amid the Coronavirus crisis.
The minister, also the chairman of Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Trust, informed this to reporters after an emergency meeting of the trust at the meeting room of his ministry at Secretariat in the capital.
Information Secretary and also trustee board vice chairman Khaja Mia addressed the meeting through online.
Terming journalists as the front fighters during the ongoing epidemic, Hasan extended thanks to them and prayed for the eternal peace of those (journalists) who died of COVID-19 and coronavirus-like symptoms, and sought early recovery of those infected with the lethal virus.
He said the emergency meeting was called during the lockdown for the second wave of the pandemic as how ‘we could help the journalists on behalf of the government.’
He said the government has taken a decision to provide special assistance to 2,000 journalists with each getting Taka 10,000. Besides, about 200 journalists would get regular assistance from the trust this year, said Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.
The minister said a total of 3,350 journalists, who have recently become jobless, remained out of jobs and are not getting their wages for long, have received the special assistance in first phase during the pandemic as per the directive of the Prime Minister.
He gave thanks to the leaders of journalists’ unions to make the lists as per his directives without considering the opinions of beneficiaries.
Hasan said the Prime Minister stands beside the journalists of Bangladesh during the ongoing COVID-19 situation and there is no such example in neighbouring countries, like India, Pakistan and Nepal, of providing supports to journalists. India only assisted the journalists who died, he added.
Replying to a query over termination of journalists, the minister said it is really very regrettable and unacceptable. “I know that the media is also facing many problems like other businesses during the prevailing COVID-19 situation. But I urged the organizations (media outlets) from the very beginning to consider the issue on humanitarian ground not business ground. But many journalists were regrettably terminated,” he added.
He said discussions are going on and the journalists’ unions are also trying to address the problem where the journalists were terminated recently.
The minister hoped that the concerned authorities would reinstate the retrenched newsmen.
Replying to another query about a proposal of BNP secretary general, Hasan said the border with India is practically not as normal as it used to be. “No people of Bangladesh can go there and no one can come to Bangladesh from there. But the transportation of goods has continued,” he added.
He said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has proposed to stop the transportation of goods to create a crisis of goods in Bangladesh. In fact, he (Mirza Fakhrul) is an intelligent man and he told it very wisely, so that a crisis is created in the country, Hasan added.
Actually, the border is not open, only the transportation of goods is open, the minister said.
About lockdown, he said processions were brought out for not declaring lockdown and for opening the shops. The government has made decisions to protect the life and livelihood, he added.
“For this, the government has been able to combat the first wave of COVID-19 successfully and the economy as well. Bangladesh’s position is third among the 20 countries which achieved GDP growth,” said Hasan.
The minister urged all to maintain health code strictly.
Among the trustee board members, Principal Information Officer Surath Kumar Sarker, Prime Minister’s Office director-7 Mohammad Fiznur Rahman, additional secretary of finance division Md Golam Mostafa, Press Institute of Bangladesh Director General and also managing director of the trust Zafar Wazed, joint secretary of Information and Broadcasting Ministry SM Mahfuzul Haque, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) president Molla Jalal, acting secretary general Abdul Majid, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) president Quddus Affrad and general secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu and daily Sangbad managing editor Kashem Humayun joined the programme.
