Odisha journalist selected for media fellowship

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Sep 1: Six journalists from Hindi and English media from Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and Punjab have been selected for the prestigious Inclusive Media-UNDP Fellowships 2014.The fellows will take time off from routine journalism to spend time with rural/ marginalized communities to highlight their anxieties and concerns that require wider coverage and public attention.The fellowships cover costs of news gathering, logistics and incidental expenses up to Rs.1,50,000.The fellowship jury comprised noted journalist and social activist Vineet Narain, development thinker and Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS); Peter De’Souza, former Dean of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIM-A); Jagdeep Chhokar, UN Coordination Advisor Radhika Kaul Batra; and Reetika Khera, development economist at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.Following are the selected fellows with a brief description of the projects they propose to pursue: Sarada Lahangir, ANI/ Women’s Feature Service (To Study the impact and implementation of the Forest Right Act and the Livelihood Security of the Forest dwellers in six tribal districts of Odisha) Rajneesh Anand, Prabhat Khabar, Ranchi (to work on myths and misconceptions about menstruation in Jharkhand and issues of health and hygiene in Chaibasa, West Singhbhoom district) Aloka Kujur, Free lancer, Apni Ranchi (To work on Food security, issues of land & livelihoods, particularly of women and children of Birohar tribe in Jharkhand) Jacinta Kerketta, Free Lancer, Khabar Mantra (To work on the loss of livelihoods and cultural mores of Pahadia community in five districts of Jharkhand) Sanjeev Verma, Hindustan Times, Chandigarh (To work on the impact of Punjab’s drug addiction on womenfolk, and the state of law enforcement and health infrastructure in five districts of Punjab) Sanjoy Ray, The Assam Tribune, Guwahati (To work on the condition of the girl child, women, and the elderly in tea gardens located in remote districts of Assam)The Inclusive Media for Change runs a clearing house of ideas, information and alternatives on India marginalised (www.im4change.org), conducts research and organises media capacity-building workshops.It is based at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Rajpur Road, Delhi.