Kathmandu, July 15:

Demanding appointment letters, salary increment and regular pay, journalists working for Nepal1 news channel today formed a struggle committee.

To launch protest programme against the channel’s management, they are schedule to hold a meeting with the FNJ tomorrow.

Mediapersons stopped working yesterday, accusing the management of failing to implement the pact inked last year.

The agitating mediapersons organised a press conference here today after the channel’s office, which has around 100 staffers, was locked and some policemen were stationed there since morning.

Addressing the press conference, FNJ chairman Dharmendra Jha said the federation would fight for the rights of the agitating mediapersons.

Revati Sapkota, a member of the struggle committee, said trade union organisations and student unions had expressed solidarity with their agitation.

“We would meet the home minister and CA members to resolve the problem,” he said. Though the strike was on, Hakikat Kadian, a senior producer of the channel, kept working at the office.

Producer fears for life

KATHMANDU: A senior producer of the channel, Hakikat Kadian, on Tuesday claimed that he had received “death threat” from the journalists. Issuing a press release, he said he had launched a hunger strike to protest unprofessional and inhuman behaviour against Indian journalists working for the channel. “Several persons, identifying themselves as employees of the channel, threatened to kill me and assaulted me on Monday,” he alleged. “The agitating mediapersons took me and collogue Sushant Jha in a cabin and beat us up. They locked us in a room for seven hours,” he alleged. He added, “I fear for the life and safety of Sushant and myself.” “We expressed our inability to sanction 35 per cent on-the-spot increase in honorarium.” However, Sapkota said they neither issued death threat against Hakikat and Sushant nor misbehaved with them. — HNS