Journalists, who lost jobs recently, been unemployed for six months or not getting salary for a long time would come under purview of the special assistance
Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has announced a special assistance programme for journalists who are facing a hard time due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The minister made the announcement on Tuesday after a meeting of Journalist Welfare Trust at the conference room of the ministry, reports UNB.
Journalists, who lost jobs recently, been unemployed for six months or not getting salary for a long time, will get Tk 10,000 one-time emergency assistance, said Hasan Mahmud.
Mentioning that many journalists have been in trouble like other professions during the crisis, he said they raised the issue to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for financial assistance to journalists.
"Following her instruction, decision was taken today to help journalists from a special fund," he said.
The journalist leaders and the union will decide who will get the help according to fixed criteria, he added.
The minister said that this welfare trust was established in 2014 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Since its inception, 1,167 journalists received Tk9.69 crore help from the trust.
Even before the trust was established, 623 journalists were given assistance of Tk3.8 crore.
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