UP to give Rs 10 lakh aid to kin of 53 journalists who died of Covid

In its second such list, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced Rs 10 lakh aid for the families of 53 journalists who died of Covid. This comes one year after chief minister Adityanath handed over cheques of the same amount to families of 55 journalists, including TV Today anchor Rohit Sardana and India Today’s Subhash Mishra.

Aaj Tak’s UP reporter Nilanshu Shukla is among the 53 names in the second list.

In an order signed by UP principal secretary Sanjay Prasad, the state government said a total amount of Rs 5.3 crore was dispersed from the journalist welfare fund in the financial year 2022-2023.

At an event in Lucknow last year, Adityanath had said, “While controlling the first wave, we also started the vaccination programme for health workers, Corona warriors along with the media as it is a watchdog for democracy. After having a word with Rajat Sharma and on his suggestion, we started special vaccination booths for mediapersons in Lucknow and Noida.”

“Our government is committed to providing all support to journalists and will continue to encourage them,” he said.