Freedom Forum is sharing that the publication of all types of print newspapers in the districts of Province 2 has been closed following the nationwide enforcement of lockdown in keeping with the potential risks of COVID-19 pandemic. Saptari District lies in province no. 2.
The Vice-Chair of Federation of Nepali Journalists Saptari Chapter, Shyam Sundar Yadav said, all the newspaper publication which used to be printed from Rajbiraj of Saptari district has been closed. Around one dozen of Daily Newspapers and three dozens of Weekly Newspapers used to run from Rajbiraj. It is noted that the publication has come to a halt following the prohibition imposed from going outside.
The main problem is shortage of human resources to distribute newspaper copies to the subscribers, shared editor of Sandhyakalin daily Sailendra Jha. Also, subscribers could not buy newspapers after closure of the shops selling newspapers, said Editor Jha.
Despite this, the Online Media, radio and television have been successfully running in the district.
Likewise, FF's representative from Province 1 Bikram Niraula informed that most of the media have stopped publication of their print editions following the government's announcement on Covie-19 lockdown. Publishers and editors there, have issued a joint press release stating that they are concerned about safety of their workers and readers. Hence, owing to the risk of viral transmission through distribution of the newspapers, publication has been stopped till the lockdown ends.
Again in Gandaki Province too, publication of all the dailies and weeklies have been stopped until further notice of Covid-19 Lockdown.
FF shows its solidarity with all the print media houses in this time of crisis.
FF appreciates the newspaper's decision to at least continue online edition to inform society and demands management to ensure safety gear at this difficult time. Together FF requests reporters to maintain safety measures and strongly urges concerned media houses to assist its journalists to equip with safety accessories because reporters are always in the frontline. The role of media to serve people with credible news and information is bigger at crisis. welcomes the efforts of media houses for making news dissemination possible from the online platform despite all the hurdles.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum..org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022