Kathmandu, March 6: President Ramchandra Paudel has honoured senior journalist and Right to Information campaigner, Taranath Dahal, amidst a programme in the capital on Monday.
Dahal was honoured with the 'Binaya
Kasajoo Outstanding Information Campaigner Award' in recognition of his
contribution to the implementation, promotion and advocacy of the RTI in
Nepal.
At a function held at the
President's Office, Sheetal Niwas, on the occasion of 18th anniversary of the
National Information Commission (NIC) on Monday. President Paudel handed Dahal
with a letter of appreciation and Rs 55,000.
It may be noted that the NIC had
honoured him with the 'senior campaigner' 11 years ago for his outstanding
contribution to RTI promotion in the country.
On the occasion, Dahal said the
status of implementation of the RTI Act in the country was still not
satisfactory.
RTI plays an important role for
development and good governance; he said that it should be utilized with
effective implementation.
Noting that the guarantee of right
to information is the primary condition of democracy, Dahal stressed the need
for all stakeholders to remain sensitive for its promotion.
Executive editor of Nepal
Samacharpatra Deepak Rijal, editor-in-chief of Taksar magazine Gajendra
Budhathoki, photojournalists Kabita Thapa and Hariram Konda of Gorkhapatra
daily were honoured with the 'Best Information Campaigner' award.
The award carries a cash prize of
Rs 30,000 and a letter of appreciation.
Similarly, Devi Prasad Thapaliya,
Keshav Silwal, Padam Kumar Shrestha, Hemanta Kumar Budhathoki and Buddhiram
Neupane were provided the 'Best Information Officer' award bagging Rs 30,000
each.
Also on the occasion, Santosh
Dahal, Sudarshan Dhakal, Dinesh Luitel, Ranjana Dahal, Sitaram Basnet and Miley
Tamang were awarded as the best employees. (RSS)