Deuba seeks stimulus package for media

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba today urged the government to announce special relief package for media houses and journalists.

Stating that the Nepali media sector was reeling under acute financial crisis in the wake of the COVId-19 pandemic, he underscored the urgent need for the government to come up with an economic stimulus package.

“The COVId-19 pandemic has not only resulted in zero revenue collection for media houses but also rendered some journalists jobless. Therefore, relief is needed from the government to overcome the adverse situation created by the novel coronavirus,” Deuba said in a press release issued on the occasion of World Press Freedom day.

Deuba lauded the role played by the Nepali media during trying times. “Press freedom is at risk of being further undermined on the pretext of the fight against COVId-19. Recent actions of the government hint at this possibility. Any attempt to curtail press freedom will not be acceptable to the NC,” he warned.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 4, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.