IE correspondent wins first prize for rural reporting

The story published in The Indian Express captures Sudhansu’s enterprise as he shows the villagers their village on Google Earth. The story also tells how the mukhiya of Nayangar guides the villagers to till their land and how he makes the village “ghoos-free” ( free of bribes).

His other entries were “The golden crop on sunflower cultivation” and “Small wonder” which shows how a 12-year-old girl provides elementary education to people of her village.

“Walk thelLine” by Narendra Belsare published in Marathi in Lokmat got the second prize and “A rat’s life” by Kunal Majumdar in Tehelka secured the third prize.

The Cushrow Irani Prize for Environmental Reporting,instituted for the first time,was presented to Shalini Singh from the Hindustan Times for her story — “Mine or Yours” — on exploitation by mining companies.

“As India grapples with mounting social problems,it is only appropriate that journalists appreciate the need for serious reportage from less obvious spots. These awards,as they have been for three decades,are a way of acknowledging the efforts off journalists who walk the extra mile,oftentimes literally,” Ravindra Kumar,editor and managing director of The Statesman said.

The awards were followed by a panel discussion on “Governance has lost relevance in today’s India.” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni,CPM leader Md Selim,BJP leader Tathagata Roy,former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh,educationist Sunanda Sanyal attended the debate which was moderated by senior journalist Seema Mustafa.