IMPHAL, Sept 16 - Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Friday assured that necessary help will be extended in establishing a corpus fund for the journalist community in the State. Ibobi was addressing the 43rd foundation day of All Manipur Working Journalists� Union (AMWJU) at Manipur Press Club premises here.
Incidentally, AMWJU is organising a charity (lottery) to raise corpus fund for the journalist community in the State on October 30 this year. He also lauded the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) for organising a series of press conference addressed by department heads of the State in recent times. It was a good beginning to develop better understanding and relationship between the government and the people, he added.
Director IPR Meghachandra Kongbam highlighted the journalist�s welfare programmes. For the first time, the department is organising a seven-day basic journalism courses in the district headquarters of Ukhrul and Senapati soon, he added. AMWJU President Wangkhemcha Shamjai who presided over the function said that so far as many as seven journalists have lost their lives while performing their duties while more than 50 others were injured in conflict situations. In order to support the bereaved families, the Union is providing journalist pension to 15 beneficiaries through DIPR.
