Cable television journalists and channel operators from across Telangana staged a protest outside the Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Commissioner’s office at Masab Tank on Monday, alleging that the state’s accreditation policy was placing several local channels and their staff at a disadvantage.
The demonstration was organised by the Telangana Cable Channels Joint Action Committee. Protesters first held a sit-in outside the office and demanded that the Commissioner meet them. When the demand was not met, some channel operators and journalists broke through the police cordon and entered the premises, staging a sit-in outside the Commissioner’s chamber. Police then forcibly removed them from the office.
Addressing the protest, Telangana Working Journalists Federation (TWJF) state president Mamidi Somayya alleged that channels operating through Internet Protocol (IP) networks were being denied accreditation. He also questioned the reduction in the number of cards available to cable channels, saying the change had added to the financial pressure on outlets that receive little or no government advertising support.
Somayya sought details from Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on the government’s stated plan to issue more than 44,000 accreditation cards, including the number issued so far and the share allocated to cable channels. He urged the government to review the policy and ensure that eligible channels and journalists were treated fairly.
The protest was attended by TWJF state general secretary Tanneeru Srinivas, National Council members Kuncham Srinivas and Yerramilli Ramarao, Telangana Union of Working Journalists state general secretary Maruthi Sagar, Hyderabad district representatives and leaders of the cable channels’ joint action committee.
