Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) has expressed grave concern at the shut down of Prime News by its management leaving more than 170 employees including journalists jobless. Extending supports to various protest demonstrations organized by the Electronic Media Forum Assam (EMFA) against the closure notice of the 24x7 satellite news channel, the JFA has urged the State chief minister Tarun Gogoi to intervene on the mater for the benefit of the affected employees of Prime News.
The employees of the Guwahati based private news channel, lately run by the Suresh Prithani owned Brahmaputra Infrastructure private limited, had informed that the news channel was shut down on October 1 citing the reason of huge financial crisis. The management apprised the employees that it had to pay nearly rupees two crore to the cable operators of Assam as a distribution fees, which it did not materialize. It was resulted in the black-out of Prime News for nearly three weeks in the last month.
As the Prime News was also not available in any Direct To Home (DTH) service too, the news channel was virtually not visible for all these days resulting a very poor TRP reading. Taking advantage of the situation, the proprietor of the channel had suddenly decided to close down it, said a statement issued today by the JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria.
The Assam based scribe body argues that the money received by the cable operators annually from the Guwahati based privately-owned television channels for facilitating the distribution among the subscribers should be made taxable. Moreover the cable operators should be asked to provide due receipts to the subscribers against their monthly charge of rupees 200 to 300 for the service. Assam with a population of over 30 million supports 26 morning dailies and seven privately owned satellite news channels with few entertainment & cable channels. These channels beam news and other programs in various languages, primarily in Assamese with English, Hindi, Bengali and various regional languages to virtually cater the need of nearly 60 million populace of the alienated northeastern region of India.
In a recent letter to Manish Tewari, Union Information and Broadcasting minister, the employees of Prime News alleged that their management abruptly informed them about the closure. However, the management has not given any formal closure notice till now. It is heard that the management has taken a new partner to run the channel who wanted all the employees to be sacked, added in the letter. Maintaining its earlier request to the Union government to design a comprehensive DTH arrangement where all the recognized channels be made available, the JFA insisted that the newly designed system should help the subscribers to get the ‘freedom to select a channel’ of their choice with or without regular payments.
The EMFA had lately organized a human chain covering the faces of agitators with black strips in front of Guwahati Press Club on October 4 to raise voices against the closure of Prime News. Hundreds of participants also shouted slogans demanding to improve the working condition of media persons in Assam with due salary and other facilities.
The JFA statement concluded with the appeal to the conscious citizens and the civil society groups of Assam to stand beside the employees of Prime News at this moment of crisis and uncertainties.
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Governor J B Patnaik said that the government's counter insurgency operations have fetched dividends where the republic day boycott call was defied. In his address after unfurling the national flag in Khanapara in Guwahati, he said that steps are being taken to bring about overall socio-economic development in the state.
He said that the government is leaving no stone unturned to put Assam on a track of rapid development process. Patnaik also said that government was committed to fighting corruption.
The N-E insurgent outfits had called for boycott of Republic Day Celebrations from 1am to 5 30 in the morning.
Normal situation prevailed on Republic Day on Saturday. Trains and air services operated as usual though long distance and city private buses kept off the roads as the transport operators gave holiday to their staff on account of R-Day. National flags were seen fluttering in banks, educational institutions, etc., remained closed. Buses, private taxis and autorickshaws of state-run Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) plied as usual. Private vehicles and large number of people on foot were also seen making their way to the various R-Day celebration venues across the state.The N-E insurgent outfits had called for boycott of Republic Day Celebrations from 1am to 5 30 in the morning.
Defying militant diktat, Republic Day was celebrated across the stat with much fanfare and cultural extravaganza. Tight security was put in place to ensure peace during the Republic Day and accordingly there was no report of any untoward incident so far. Assam governor JB Patnaik unfurled the national flag and took salute of the armed forces and school children at Khanapara in presence of Chief minister Tarun Gogoi. Besides march pasts by the state police and central security forces, there were also dance performances by different ethnic groups of the state upholding the spirit of the republic. Similar functions were organised by the government at district headquarters addressed by cabinet...
Dispur Vidyalaya Alumni Association is going to organize second alumni meet at the premises of Dispur Government Higher Secondary School on Sunday, 27th January, 2013. The meet will a platform for all the Dvians to come to a common ground and devise ways to better the educational and extracurricular activities for the present set of students studying in this historical school.It is to be noted that the first chapter of the alumni meet was held last year on 29th January, 2012. The meet helped to forge a bond of community among Dvians from as many batches and a sense of commitment to the betterment of the school. While a website of the school, www.dispurvidyalaya.org, was...
The media fraternity of the city will hoist the national
tricolor tomorrow (Jan 26) at Guwahati Press Club. The program will
begin at 11 am sharp. Every one is requested to participate in the
program with an aim to pay tributes to the martyrs of India’s Freedom
Movement.
Asom Mohila Samata Society in association with Directorate of Field publicity, Dibrugarh organized an awareness programme on ‘National girl child day’ at Naduwa Panchayet, Dibrugarh on January 24.
Yet another IED was found at Goreswar Gasbari area on Thursday morning. The IED was planted by suspected anti-talk faction group of National Democratic Front of Bodoland near a culvert of Baihata-Goreswar road. Investigation is gong on. ULFA and NDFB are among ten outfits who have called a general strike on Jan 26 and urged people to boycott the Republic Day celebrations.
A powerful Improvised Explosive Devices was recovered ahead of the Republic Day celebrations in Darrang district on Thursday.The bomb was found near the Mangaldoi police station and Republic Day parade ground in the morning. Police suspected it a handiwork of ULFA for triggering explosion targeting security forces. Later army bomb squad team defused the bomb.
Guwahati Police have arrested 8 persons including a Mizoram forest department official and recovered some rare species of snake in Guwahati. These persons were arrested on Monday night from a building in Mathuranagar area in the city.A tortoise has also been seized from their possession on Wednesday midnight. Later they has been taken to the Dispur police station.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said that the Army court had taken a lenient view of the crime. He told reporters in Jorhat that he would urge the defence ministry to review the case to ensure proper justice to the 19-year-old victim. According to Gogoi, the army court has been insensitive to the seriousness of the crime and has taken a lenient view.He said that imprisonment for only three months is far less than the heinous crime committed by the armyman. Notably, an Army court had on Monday sentenced Anil Kumar Upadhaya, a lance naik with 287 Field Regiment, to three months of rigorous imprisonment in military custody and demoted him to the rank of sepoy who was arrested after he was caught...
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