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Our Correspondent
Imphal, May 6 (EMN): Manipur Chief Minister, Nongthombam Biren Singh, has declared all accredited working journalists of the state as frontline Covid-19 warriors and added that the state government would now vaccinate all the journalists on top priority.
Confirming this, Singh on late Wednesday night tweeted: “We recognise the efforts of our journalists to disseminate news and the risk they are exposed to is no less than other frontline workers. In recognition of all the accredited working journalists as frontline warriors, the state governemt will now vaccinate all the journalists on priority.”
In a facebook post too, he shared similar information stating that the government recognises the work that working journalists perform to collect and disseminate news. The risk they put into their personal safety during the Covid-19 pandemic is no less than other frontline workers, he added.
“In recognition of all the accredited working journalists as frontline Covid warriors, the state government will now vaccinate all the journalists on top priority. Please stay safe and continue to serve the people with same vigour as you have always been doing,” he stated.
With this new development, Manipur became the first state in Northeast that has joined list of other states like Odisha, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka etc. that declared journalists as frontline workers, making them eligible for vaccines on priority basis. Some states including Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Jharkhand also reportedly said that priority would be given to journalists in the Covid-19 vaccination drive.
Biren’s announcement came a day after the correspondents of national and regional media houses in Imphal urged the chief minister to do something for the journalists’ fraternity who want Covid vaccination considering their vulnerability to the pandemic.
On Wednesday, All Manipur Working Journalists' Union and Editors Guild Manipur have also urged the state government to recognise the working journalists and other media workers as frontline warriors and announce accordingly.
The Editors Guild of India has been demanding that journalists reporting on the worsening pandemic be declared as frontline workers and be given priority in vaccination.
Meanwhile, the firector IPR Manipur would coordinate with journalist bodies and tie-up with the state mission director of National Health Mission Manipur for vaccination drive, a press release said.