Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Press Club on Sunday, October 11, asked Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to resolve the long-pending issues of journalists by December 9. These include health cards, house sites and pensions for veteran journalists. If they are not resolved, the club said it would announce a phased course of action.
The decision was taken at a general body meeting of the club. Its president, S Vijay Kumar Reddy, presided, and a large number of journalists attended.
Members raised concern over several issues pending with the state government, such as the lease of the Press Club premises, health cards, housing plots and pensions for veteran journalists. They urged the government to announce a time-bound plan to resolve them.
The meeting decided that the club would soon make further representations to ministers and the Chief Minister on these issues.
The club’s executive committee said it would stand by all journalists facing professional challenges. It said a national-level committee had been formed to help journalists deal with legal challenges. The committee’s members include senior advocate Kapil Sibal, The Hindu group director N Ram, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy and others.
The meeting also took decisions on the club’s new building and on additional amenities for its members.
The demand for health cards has also been raised by journalists’ unions in the districts. On October 2, the Telangana Union of Working Journalists launched a postcard campaign asking the government to issue the cards.
In 2024, Revanth Reddy handed over the government order allotting land to the Jawaharlal Nehru Journalists Housing Society. He also said then that the Telangana Media Academy had been directed to prepare guidelines on health cards and accreditation.
In August, Hyderabad hosted the launch of the Federation of Press Clubs, a national body of which the Press Club of Hyderabad is a founding member. At the launch, Vijay Kumar Reddy had pledged support, including legal help, for journalists facing harassment.
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