Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said that the State government will construct houses for journalists in Hyderabad and rural areas.
The houses will come up in blocks of ground plus one in Hyderabad while they will be given land for construction of houses with a unit costing Rs. 4 lakh each in districts, Mr. Rao said at the first conference of Telangana Union of Working Journalists, affiliated to Indian Journalists Union (IJU) here on Sunday.
He said the health card facility to State government staff will be extended to journalists. A university of journ-alism will also be established. Mr. Rao also praised the TUWJ for their social concern and recalled how the Gajwel unit adopted Ahmedipur Lake under Mission Kak-atiya. He said the role of scri-bes in the Telangana movement could not be forgotten.
Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was concerned about the betterment of journalists and said all that promised by the Chief Minister would be fulfilled. The recommendations of the Ramachandra Murthy Committee formed by the Government for journalists’ welfare will be adopted, he said.
The Telangana TDP Legislature Party leader, Yerrabelli Dayakar Rao, recalled the role of journalists in the movement and said the Government should keep its promises made to journalists. “I will raise your demands in the Assembly.” BJP MLA, K. Lakshman requested the Chief Minister to construct at least 100 houses for journalists in each constituency given the role they played in the agitation. Dubbaka MLA and former journalist, Ramalinga Reddy, attributed his growth as a TRS leader to his stint in APUWJ.
