Felicitation to media fellows in press club

The winners of Birsingh Majhi Memorial and ERD Foundation fellowships were felicitated at a brief function held at the Guwahati Press Club on Thursday. Both the fellowships were being conducted by the press club.

The fellows were handed over the first part of their assured money in today’s function by Prithibi Majhi, who was present in the function with his wife Tarulata Kakati Majhi. Similarly representative of ERD foundation Rose Mahanta handed over the first part of the assured amount to Jishnu Medhi of NE Television, who will study various aspects of pavement dwellers (primarily beggars) of Guwahati under the fellowship sponsored by the ERD Foundation.

The first chain of fellowships, sponsored by Prithibi Majhi and his family, would cover a comprehensive study of tea industry with fish production and role of women journalists in Assam. The fellowship on the ‘Economy of Tea Plantations (of Assam)’ was awarded to Ranen Kumar Goswami, a Guwahati based senior journalist. Goswami will make a comprehensive study about the tea industry of Assam, for which he will be offered a financial support of Rs. 40,000/- (Rupees forty thousand only).

The next fellowship on the tea plantation workers addressing the administration, welfare and other socio-cultural issues related to them went to Prabal Kumar Das of The Assam Tribune. The four month long fellowship will provide him equal amount of money as that of the first one.

The fellowship on ‘Women in Assam based Media’ was offered to Sabita Lahkar, another Guwahati based freelance journalist. Her study will include the challenge of women in the media and some significant success stories of Assam, for which she will be given Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand only).

Another two month long fellowship on fish production (in Assam) was awarded to Arup Jyoti Mahanta of Dainik Agradoot. The fellowship, which covers a comprehensive study on Assam's potentiality in fish production and possibility of self dependence in future, will bring equal amount of money as of the third one.

Sponsored by ERD Foundation, Guwahati the fifth fellowship is expected to encourage the fellow for an in-depth study (and report) about the issue of pavement dwellers. The fellow will try to analyze the reason behind their homelessness, categorization and also the security aspect of the homeless persons in the city, for which he will be paid Rs 15,000 (fifteen thousand only).

The final outcome of all the fellowship programme will be compiled and published in a book form for the benefit of general readers. Before that the fellows will prepare a number of articles for publication in the newspaper on their respective study areas, stated in a release issued by the press club secretary Nava Thakuria.