Women Journalists are Strengthening the Fourth Pillar of Democracy with their Courage – Chief Minister Sai

IN Short

*Chief Minister meets delegation of women journalists who returned from a study tour to Gujarat

*For the first time, a delegation of women journalists from Chhattisgarh undertook a study tour; they expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai with joyful smiles.

Raipur: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai met with a delegation of women journalists who had returned from a study tour to Gujarat at the Chief Minister’s residence office. On this occasion, Chief Minister Sai said that women journalists are strengthening the fourth pillar of democracy with their courage. I salute the courage of all these women who are making a positive contribution to society by working in a challenging profession like journalism.

The delegation of women journalists presented the Chief Minister with a Gujarati shawl and a bouquet of flowers and expressed their gratitude for sending a delegation of women journalists from Chhattisgarh on a study tour to another state for the first time.

The women journalists specifically thanked the Chief Minister, saying that on Women’s Day last year, they had expressed their desire to him to be sent on a study tour. They were very happy that the Chief Minister fulfilled their wish.

During the discussion with the women, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that during this study tour, you all understood the cultural and historical significance of important places including the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Somnath Jyotirlinga, Rajkot, and Porbandar. In the coming time, this experience will further enrich your writing, which will benefit the world of journalism as well as your readers.

Chief Minister Sai said that this is the third year of our government. We are celebrating this year as “Maahtari Gaurav Varsh” (Mother’s Pride Year). The Chief Minister also encouraged the women journalists to compile their experiences from the study tour into a book.

He said that this will not only make this trip memorable for them forever, but other people will also be able to increase their knowledge about Gujarat by reading their book.

The Chief Minister said that Gujarat is a prosperous and model state. One of the special features of Gujarat is that remarkable work has been done in the field of cooperatives. Amul is a living example of a cooperative, which mainly involves women.

We are also promoting cooperatives in Chhattisgarh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also the Minister of Cooperation of the country. Under his guidance, a lot of work is being done for cooperatives in Chhattisgarh as well. Cooperation symbolises that even big tasks become easy when done together.

The Chief Minister said that in Chhattisgarh, we are digitising all processes. The e-file system is now implemented in the ministry. Chief Minister Sai shared his experiences of his Gujarat visit with the women journalists, stating that Gujarat’s CM Dashboard is the country’s most advanced monitoring system, through which the entire state can be monitored from one place. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation for Gujarat’s development, and we are implementing similar systems here as well.

The women journalists shared their experiences of the Gujarat study tour with the Chief Minister. Nisha Dwivedi said that this tour gave her the opportunity to experience Gujarat’s rich history and culture. Damini Banjare told the Chief Minister that this was the first time in her 8-year journalism career that a team of women journalists had gone on a study tour. Noorjahan from Koriya said that this was the first time that women had been given such priority. She expressed hope that women journalists would continue to get such opportunities in the future.

Uttara Vidani, a journalist from Mahasamund, told the Chief Minister that she thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. She noted that a special feature was that ordinary citizens, including children, were given easy access to observe the assembly proceedings. Komal Dhanesar, a journalist from Durg, said that in Chhattisgarh’s silver jubilee year, this was the first time in 25 years that women journalists had received such an opportunity. She said that when they started the tour, there were many unfamiliar faces, but they returned with new friends and new bonds.

Neha Srivastava, a journalist from Raipur, told the Chief Minister that all the journalists work in different organisations. Due to their busy schedules, they don’t get a chance to interact much.

This tour was a unique experience, different from their routine, and they made new friends. Rachna Nitesh told the Chief Minister that this experience was enriching from a historical and cultural perspective. She said that a special aspect was that their team included three generations of women journalists.

They learned a great deal. Bastar-based journalist Priyanka Jaiswal said that Chhattisgarh is identified with Bastar. She mentioned that she had many apprehensions due to the unfamiliar environment during the tour, but the experience turned out to be very pleasant. Rajshree Gupte from Korba said that during this 8-day tour, it felt like they had relived their childhood.

The women journalists told Chief Minister Sai that for many of them, it was their first airplane journey. The Chief Minister, with great warmth, told the journalists that those who travel by air for the first time have to throw a party. Hearing this, laughter echoed throughout the hall.

The women journalists also shared an interesting anecdote with Chief Minister Sai. They recounted that during their visit to Gujarat, they interacted with some French tourists. Upon learning that the journalists were from Chhattisgarh, the French tourists exclaimed, “Oh, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai of Chhattisgarh!” They felt immense pride that even foreign citizens recognised the state of Chhattisgarh by the name of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

The women journalists also expressed their gratitude to the officials of the Public Relations Department who took excellent care of them during this eight-day study tour. Present on the occasion were Commissioner of Public Relations Dr. Ravi Mittal, Additional Director of Public Relations Sanjeev Tiwari, and the Chief Minister’s Press Officer.