New communications related laws to be made: Communications Minister Baskota

Pokhara, July 29  Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Banskota revealed the government was at work to formulate new communications related laws.

At a programme organised to honour Dharmendra Jha, former President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) with ‘Dayashankar Palikhe Memorial National Journalism Award, 2074’, Minister Banskota said that the laws also include provisions for advertisement to provide to small-scale media.
He informed the audiences about the ongoing process that intends classifying the radios as community and commercial. Minister Banskota reiterated that the government was preparing to establish media council replacing the Press Council.

The award was established by Daya Shanker Palikhe’s family and run by FNJ, Kaski, Mr Palikhe was one of the foremost democratic leaders of Pokhara. Suggesting the media to be critical, Minister Banskota said the government would regulate social networking sites to stop its misuse.
Earlier, Minister Banskota presented the cash Rs 33,333 and letter of felicitation to Mr Jha.

The honoured personality Jha said that the society would regulate the journalism, saying questions have been raised on various issues including relevance of journalism. Similarly, Minister for Physical Infrastructure of the provincial government, Ram Sharan Basnet, expressed the view that the role of journalism sector would be crucial in journey of country’s propriety.