Reporters Without Orders Ep 187: Jharkhand’s ‘ration crisis’ and Bharat Bandh

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Nidhi Suresh and independent journalist Anand Dutt.

Anand starts with his BBC Hindi report on a ration crisis in Jharkhand, where people have to travel 30 km to reach ration distribution centres. “Mobile networks play an important role in this distribution,” he says, “as sometimes, the dealer can’t give rations because the machine doesn’t administer a recipient’s fingerprint because of bad network. And then, they are asked to come again later.”

He also describes undeveloped Adivasi areas in Jharkhand, where basic amenities and facilities are lacking.

Nidhi talks about her experience reporting on the farmer protest at Singhu on the day of the Bharat Bandh, and how it was so different from the early days of the protest. She mentions a pattern of using barricades as a political tool and what the farmers had to say about the mainstream media. She also explains how sections of the media reported on the violence during an eviction drive in Assam.

This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.

Tune in.

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Produced by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Satish Kumar.