'Make Gorkhapatra a leader in market'

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 7: Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma has said that the Gorkhapatra should serve as a bridge between the government and the people. 

Addressing a special ceremony organised on the occasion of the 124th year of Gorkhapatra publication and 62nd anniversary of the Gorkhapatra Corporation on Monday, Minister Sharma said Gorkhaptara should play the role of a bridge between the government and people while disseminating authentic information.   

Minister Sharma said, "It is the day when Gorkhapatra was published and the foundation of journalism laid down in Nepal.”

Remembering the synonym of newspaper as Gorkhapatra, Minister Sharma said, "Everybody knows the legacy of Gorkhapatra. Today we are in an era of democracy, republic and inclusiveness.”

She also recalled that Gorkhapatra was an eyewitness of different eras of Nepal's politics.

The role of Gorkhapatra is significant in the preservation and promotion of the Nepali language and literature, said Minister Sharma. 

She emphasised that Gorkhapatra should be able to widen its readership in a timely manner. 

It should work to increase its readership in line with growing access of information to the common people. It is necessary to make the present and the future meaningful like its history. The institute should also be active in financial and manpower management. 

She further said that a new type of manpower was needed to manage Gorkhapatra and to establish it based on its qualities to make it a leader in the market. 

Addressing the programme, Bishnu Prasad Subedi, Executive Chairman of Gorkhapatra Corporation (GC), said that Gorkhapatra is a dignified institution of Nepali journalism. 

Executive Chairman Subedi said that Gorkhapatra not only represented a glorious history but also a school of journalism. 

“The intuition is an eye witness to political changes and social history, and record keeper of the ups and downs of the country, all forms of changes and transformations,” he said. He emphasised that it needed to develop Gorkhapatra technically according to the times.

Speaking on the occasion, Lal Bahadur Airi, General Manager of the GC, said that it was the responsibility of the institute to make everyone feel that Gorkhapatra belonged to everyone.

Mentioning that Gorkhapatra was not only the mirror of the society but also connected with the life of every Nepali, he said that Gorkhapatra was useful for preparation of public service to SEE.

President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Bipul Pokharel, expressed his happiness that news with a critical tone had started appearing in Gorkhapatra.

He said, "The beginning of publishing critical news in Gorkhapatra is a matter of happiness. The youth leadership has established this trend. Gorkhapatra should continue with this.”

Press Council Chairman Balkrishna Basnet said that Gorkhpatra set the standards of journalism and provided correct information.

He stressed that journalists should not make mistakes even if they were in a hurry.

Shiva Kumar Bhattarai, Acting Editor-in-Chief of Gorkhapatra daily, Bhimsen Thapalia, Acting 

Editor-in-Chief of The Rising Nepal, and Tamang Language page coordinator of Gorkhapatra daily 

published under Naya Nepal, Ajitman Tamang, expressed their best wishes.

Secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Ram Krishna Subedi and others from the journalism sector were present in the programme.

On the occasion of the anniversary, 19 journalists and other staff were awarded and feted.