9 years of Union Government – dedicated to service, good governance and welfare of poor
Media workshop-interaction organized by PIB Chandigarh in Rewari.
The Voice of Chandigarh :
The 9 years of the Union Government have been dedicated to service, good governance and welfare of Poor. In order to give detailed information about the steps taken towards development schemes benefiting the common man, a interactive program was organized as media workshop and Vartalap by the Press Information Bureau Chandigarh at Rewari district headquarters.
Rewari’s ADC Swapnil Ravindra Patil was present as the chief guest in the event, while the workshop was presided over by PIB Chandigarh’s Additional Director General Rajinder Chaudhry. SDM Bawal Jitendra Kumar, DIPRO Dinesh Kumar and BJP State Spokesperson Vandana Popli were present as special guests in the workshop.
The objective of the event was to establish direct interaction between PIB and journalists working at district and sub-district level.
In conversation Additional Director General PIB Chandigarh (Northern Region) Rajinder Chaudhry said that media is the most powerful tool for dissemination of information. Apart from focusing on investigative journalism, the media should also focus on developmental journalism and try to focus on successful and positive stories from the ground. He also stressed on media ethics and code of conduct for journalists before reporting on various issues. Mr Chaudhry said that women are leading on all fronts and in times to come, this region will witness more active participation of women in media as well as other fields. On this occasion Chaudhry made a presentation on various schemes in 9 years of service, good governance and welfare of poor.
Addressing the journalists, Chaudhry also reiterated that journalists should enhance the information shared by various government agencies and help in disseminating the message of development among the masses. He also talked about PIB Fact Check, giving a detailed presentation about the functioning of PIB and other allied media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that the department can help in debunking fake news.
Emphasizing on the importance of social media in today’s times, he said, social media is now a very powerful tool for information dissemination. However, we must be careful of fake news and misinformation and we must share only verified information.
ADC Swapnil Ravindra Patil appreciated the efforts of PIB Chandigarh during the interaction which he termed as the best platform for dialogue between media and government. He said that media being the fourth pillar of democracy acts as the eyes and ears of the government and coordination is necessary to get necessary feedback and address concerns regarding the implementation of schemes and programs of the government at the grassroots level. He also said that media acts like a double edged sword and it is up to the media to take positive and developmental stories to the masses or not and media should use itself for constructive reporting. He said that media has an important role in creating awareness about positive activities. He also shared detailed information about the recent Haryana Uday Outreach Program with the media.
Views of the speakers as resource persons:
Dr. Ashok Sharma, Chairman, Department of JMC, Central University of Haryana, presented a very insightful session on social media and said that social media promotes social development through integration of audience with mainstream media. He also said that social media should be used responsibly to take authentic information to the masses. Dr. Ashok Kumar emphasized on the quality of information, which can lead to empowerment of citizens. Only media literate people can fight against fake news and misinformation. Only credible and authentic information and media platforms can strengthen democracy.
Rewari’s District Information and Public Relations Officer Dinesh Kumar appreciated the effort of Press Information Bureau and said that unlike most media involved in the coverage of events, today PIB has given them an opportunity to be the star of the event and as such media workshops in the region should be facilitated regularly for better coordination. He gave detailed information on behalf of the department about taking the policies of the government to the rural environment through Bhajan Party in folk style.
Dr. Jyotsna Yadav from Education Department told about National Education Policy 2020 that this policy is revising and reshaping all aspects of vocational education with aspirational goals of 21st century students.
Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr. Ashok Kumar informed about the plans of the Health Department in Rewari during the interaction. He said that due to this scheme people have been encouraged to opt for institutional delivery.
Dr. Mona Sharma of CU Haryana emphasized on the role of media in spreading awareness about air pollution, water pollution, climate change. She mentioned that the media should highlight the Sustainable Development Goals to protect and preserve the environment. She told that ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ is the theme of Environment Day 2023. Since plastic pollution is a global problem, a global approach is needed to solve it.
Ahmad Khan, Field Publicity Officer, PIB Chandigarh welcomed the media and guests and presented vote of thanks. More than 60 journalists from print media, social media and electronic media participated in the workshop and shared their experiences and provided inputs on various issues. He said that the workshop was organized to make the journalists aware about the various schemes of the Union Government for the welfare of the common citizens. The technical sessions were followed by an interactive question-answer session. Journalists expressed their views and provided constructive feedback. The journalists also thanked PIB for organizing the workshop and hoped that more such workshops would be organized in future.
