Odisha Govt Sanctions Rs 2.55 Cr Ex-gratia to Families of 17 Journalists Who Succumbed to COVID-19

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has sanctioned ex-gratia of Rs 2.55 crore to the families of 17 journalists who succumbed to the COVID-19.

With due approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Information and Public Relations Department of Odisha has sanctioned ex-gratia @Rs. 15 Lakh to 17 working journalists of the State who died of Covid-19.

The list of journalists who have been sanctioned ex-gratia include-four from Bhubaneswar – Manas Jaypuria, Zee Odisha, Basanta Das, Freelance, Bijayan Laxmi Mohanty, Ajikali, Pritiman Mohapatra, Times of India, 3 from Balangir – Subhransu Sekhara Mishra, Sambad, Jateesh Chandra Khamari, Sambad, Kailash Chandra Sahoo, Pragatibadi, 7 from Ganjam – Gobind Behera, TV News 6 (Web), Pradeep Kishore Sahu, Sambad, Kishore Chandra Dash, Samaj, Naresh Kumar Behera, Odisha Files, Ratnakar Moharana, Kalinga Jyoti, Nandini, Nilaya Ranjan Pattnaik, Block Correspondent, Karunakar Sahoo, Anupam Bharat, one from Kalahandi – Bhanuprakash Rath, Naxatra TV and 2 from Jajpur- Ashok Kumar Sahoo, Manthan, Pravat Kumar Routray, Loka Sampark (Jajpur).

This financial assistance will be disbursed to the next of kin of the deceased journalists. A sum of Rs. 2.55 Crore has been sanctioned from Journalist Welfare Fund. Few such cases have been received by the I & PR Department which will be disbursed after due verification. After required enquiry at the district level, eligible applications will be considered for disbursement of the ex-gratia compassionate assistance, according to an official release.