Kathmandu, Jan. 5: Minister of State for Information and Communications Govinda Bahadur Shaha was presented the report submitted by the Remuneration and Compensation Fixation Committee for the working journalists here today.

On the occasion Minister of State Shaha assured that the recommendations will be seriously implemented by the government and expressed hope that the report presented by the committee will be instrumental in developing the public and private sector media of the country.

President of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Suresh Acharya called for professional safety of the 2500 working journalists working all over the kingdom and implementation of the act and regulations in a phasewise manner.

Member of the committee and general secretary of the FNJ Taranath Dahal said the development of journalism is only possible through the honesty and adherence to the code of conduct by the journalists.

The report was presented to the Minister of State Shaha by the committee president Ujjwol Sharma.

The report includes the categorisation of the publishing houses, categorisation of the posts of the working journalists and remunerations and compensation.

The committee members were Bishnu Nisthuri, Taranath Dahal, Kabir Rana, Rajeswor Nepali and Naresh Baral, and the representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Information and Communications where as the director general of the Department of Information was the member secretary.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the 55th Aupicious Birthday of His Majesty the King, Minister of State for Information and Communications Govinda Bahadur Shaha felicitated the blind and disabled artistes contributing to Nepalese art, culture and literature at a function here today.

The artistes and litterateurs felicitated today at the programme organised by the mentally and physically disabled upliftment association were litterateur and singer Shambhu Kumar Milan, humourist Ananda Thapa, folk singers Bir Bahadur Gandharva and Krishna Bikram Thapa, singer Madhu Babu Thapa, and cine artists Sapana Shrestha, Miss Laxmi Dhungana and Loknath Dhakal.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Shaha stressed on the need for the government to make special arrangements for scholarships, employment and various facilities to the mentally and physically handicapped persons.

Member of Rajparishad Jaya Prakash said it is a praiseworthy act on the part of the blind and the disabled to contribute to the literature and arts.

Felicitated artist Shambhu Kumar Milan said the blind and the disabled can provide something to the country if they are given proper opportunities instead of pitying them. At the programme presided over by chairperson of the association Miss Bhawana Sharma, various other speakers including president of the Reporters’ Club Rishi Dhamala and Lekhnath Adhikari also expressed their views.