Sagar Firdous
Ganderbal, 25 September:(KNS): Journalists in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Monday Framed New Association ,It is pertinent to mention that the professional journalist fraternity Ganderbal formed a new association "Media Council Ganderbal"for which several meetings were held earlier with authorities.
The launching ceremony was held at Town Hall Ganderbal today in which Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal Mr.Shyambir was chief Guest and Prominent Personalities,Chairman Municipal Council Ganderbal Adv. Altaf Ahmad,Chairman Voice for peace and justice Farooq Ganderbali (Former President of Press Club Ganderbal),
Principle Government Degree College Ganderbal were Special invitees.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Shyambir IAS assured the journalists body that all their genuine demands would be met and concerned will definitely be looked into.
While appreciating the role of media fraternity in highlighting public issues,He urged Journalists to reach out to the public and ensure that their issues are brought into the notice of the administration for redressal.
“The media is a significant fourth pillar of democracy and holds an important role in delivery of transparent and accountable governance to the people. All the demands put forth have been taken into consideration and will be seriously looked into so that the issues will be resolved in a time bound manner,” DC assured the media persons.
New Council appointed Syed Nazakat Khaleefa as its President for new association,Rafiq Ahmad as Vice President , Zamin Peerzada as General Secretary,Aijaz Ahmad Tantray as Spokesperson and Shahid Afridi Treasuryor.
The main aim of the Media Council is to take up various issues faced by the journalists in Ganderbal",Syed Nazakat said after his appointment, adding that the Council /association will also approach various stakeholders to uphold the constitutional and democratic values that govern the media in J&K.
General Secretary Peerzada Zamin said that the association will also approach media bodies like Press Council of India, Editors Guild of India and other international journalist associations regularly to highlight issues faced by them.The body also decided to meet the LG Administration in order to start a systematic process of ensuring the safety of the working journalists, while maintaining that in Kashmir, the coverage of various happenings and events make journalists vulnerable to all sorts of risks and apprehensions.
Spokesperson Journalist Aijaz Tantray said,we believes in ethics of journalism,We will always support professional journalists and there is no space for those indulging in blackmailing, extortion and yellow journalism besides people with criminal record posing as journalists should be isolated and identified.
Media Council Ganderbal
sought cooperation and support from DC Ganderbal in upholding the dignity and sanctity of noble profession journalism and fourth estate as there is onslaught of social media being handled unethically.
Media Council Ganderbal
will continue to uphold its commitment to unbiased journalism and responsible reporting,it is pertinent to mention that there has been mushrooming growth of social media users,Camera men especially Facebook claiming to be Journalists in the area having no professional degree.
The ceremony was concluded with the understanding that “the authorities follow the set procedures to ensure the safety of the professional journalists on the ground as press is an important pillar of democracy.”
The ceremony saw the active participation of all members of Media Council Ganderbal, Official who have been diligently serving the community for several years.(KNS)