Kupwara : To build a direct interface between the government and the journalists working at district and sub-district levels across Kashmir division, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Srinagar, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India here on Saturday organized Media Workshop “Vartalap” at district Kupwara. The workshop, organized at the Conference Hall of Deputy Commissioner’s Office, was presided over by District Development Commissioner Kupwara Ayushi Sudan.
According to a statement issued here, addressing the gathering, Sudan thanked PIB Srinagar for organizing the workshop in district Kupwara. She said that journalists are also contributing to the development and progress of the society by acting as a bridge between the government and the public. She asserted that the relation between the government and the media should be an honest one as it is ultimately the public that is to be benefitted from it.
Ms Sudan further gave an overview of the working of the Kupwara district administration and said that in the times to come, the district will see a lot of progress and development. She said that media has a role to play in taking the message of development to the people and it should always give the right information as sometimes irresponsible reporting can create a lot of problems.
Sudan encouraged the media to provide feedback positive and negative to the administration so that it helps in better governance. She said that media has a lot of power and media persons should use that power wisely and judiciously and make sure that the power is not misused.
In his welcome address, Deputy Director (Media and Communication) PIB Srinagar, Sh. Tariq Rather thanked district administration Kupwara for their support in organizing the workshop. He said, Vartalap is a two way communication and the purpose of the workshop is to reach out to media at far flung places. He added that the work of the government is greatly eased due to the efforts of the media as it acts like the eyes and ears of the government.
Sh. Rather said that journalists should make maximum use of the information provided by the media units of the government as it will help them in seeing the complete picture. He further said that besides disseminating information from the government, PIB also takes notice of news that is reported at the local and regional levels and conveys it to the higher authorities for redressal of grievances.
Mansoor Ahmad, Block Development Officer Kupwara gave an overview of the achievements of Rural Development Department (RDD) Kupwara. He said that RDD is the most vibrant face of the government and the various programmes of the government for development of the district are being implemented in full spirit.
Ahmad said that all the details of the MGNREGA scheme are now available online and there is no scope for any mismanagement at any level ensuring transparency and accountability. He said that Kupwara was declared as the best district in the entire country for the implementation of the Amrit Sarovar scheme last year. He added that projects like these have increased the tourism potential of the district.
Dr. Mohd. Ramzan, Chief Medical Officer, Kupwara spoke about the achievements of health sector with special focus on PMJAY (Golden Cards) in the district. He said that 94 percent of the families of district Kupwara have been covered under the scheme and 45,945 people have availed the benefits under the scheme so far in the district.
Chief Education Officer Kupwara, Abdul Hameed Fani spoke in detail about the status of the implementation of NEP-2020 in the district. He said NEP-2020 aims to revolutionize the education sector in the entire country and bring it at par with the best educational setups in the world.
Fani said that Kupwara has started witnessing an upward trend in the number of school admissions and that is a testimony to the fact that NEP-2020 is delivering the results that it was intended to. He added that all efforts are being made to bring down the dropout rate from the schools.
He added that student friendly curriculums are being developed under the policy and preference is being given to recognize the students’ preferences and interests and mould them in that particular direction.
Earlier in the programme, Media and Communication Officer PIB Srinagar Majid Mushtaq Pandit gave a detailed presentation about the working and mandate of various units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting based in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In his concluding remarks, Rather said that journalists should come forward with their genuine demands and seek help from the government for redressal of their problems.
The proceedings of the workshop were conducted by Rather. Iftikhar Naseem, District Information Officer, Kupwara presented the Vote of Thanks. Sheikh Mudasir Amin, Media and Communications Officer, PIB Jammu and Aamir Amin Nowshahri, Media and Communications Officer, PIB Srinagar were also present during the media workshop.
The technical sessions were followed by interactive question-answer sessions in which journalists talked to the experts and cleared their doubts regarding various schemes and programmes. The journalists also thanked PIB for organizing the workshop and expressed hope that more such workshops will be conducted in future.
