Odisha rights panel mulling special cell for HRD cases: Justice Mishra

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 16:

Justice Bira Kishore Mishra, acting chairperson of Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC), today said the Commission is seriously considering  setting up a special cell to handle Human Rights Defender (HRD) cases.

Inaugurating a two day media workshop for working journalists in Bhubaneswar on Friday, Justice Mishra said, “Safety and security of journalists is of paramount importance as they are working as watchdogs to protect the interests of society and the human rights of the people.”

The workshop is being jointly organised by Report on Reporters (RoR) and Civil Society Forum on Human Rights (CSFHR).

Speaking on the occasion, rights activist Dhirendra Panda, the Convener of CSFHR, said the risks on journalists are increasing day by day. As they are defenders of human rights, their rights should be protected.

Convener of RoR, Sri Akhand spoke about the aims and objectives of the forum.

Speaking at the various sessions during the first day of the workshop, senior journalists Jatindra Das, Basudev Mohapatra, Kedar Mishra and NA Shah Ansari spoke at length about the right to freedom of press and use of social and community media for monitoring of rights issues.

More than 40 journalists and journalism students from different parts of the state are attending the workshop.

CSFHR’s Chandranath Dani, Akhand and Ranjit Sutar have managed the program.