Amid the coronavirus COVID-19 spread, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday was asked by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) to allow media personnel travelling across the Delhi-Noida border for work on the basis of photo identity cards issued by their channels and exempt them from the requirement of having special passes.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Wednesday asked media houses located in Noida and Delhi to send details of their personnel who need to travel between the two cities during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. On April 21 night, the district administration sealed the Delhi-Noida border.
In a letter to Adityanath, News Broadcasters Association (NBA) President Rajat Sharma stressed the role of news channels during the present challenging times. "Quick and timely dissemination of updated information regarding the spread of the COVID-19 and the measures implemented by the government authorities, as well as efforts being made by members of civil society, is of utmost importance," Sharma said.
While the nation-wide lockdown continues, print and electronic media have been exempted as essential services, and were permitted to operate even during the lockdown, he noted.
Effective April 21, the Delhi-Noida border has been completely sealed and only persons to whom special passes are issued will be permitted to move across the border, Sharma said highlighting certain "serious issues" being faced by news channels with this arrangement.
"The closure of the Delhi-Noida border is posing extreme hardship and logistical hurdles," the NBA chief said in the letter.
"In view of the large number of employees, reporters and support staff who are required to move from one location to another, and since the travel locations are not always fixed in advance, it is proving extremely difficult for us to identify locations and give other details at the time of getting the curfew passes issued," Sharma said.
Also, since there are no public transport facilities available in the city, therefore, pick-up and drop facilities are needed for most of the employees and support staff, he said.
"In such circumstances, insisting on compliance by the media personnel with the mandate of obtaining special curfew passes or any other restrictions imposed on how the employees should travel on company-owned vehicles, would jeopardize the very functioning of news channels during the lockdown," Sharma said.
"This would greatly harm larger public interest, and deprive the members of the public of the availability of a vital medium for obtaining critical information, including life saving information," he said.
Sharma urged the UP chief minister to issue instructions to permit media personnel to commute and travel for work and professional purposes, including across the Delhi-Noida border, on the basis of their photo identity cards issued by the respective news channels.
In such cases, the requirement of the issuance of curfew passes may kindly be dispensed with, he said.
