Basnet appointed Editor-in-Chief of Gorkhapatra

By A Staff Reporter Kathmandu, May 21: Junar Babu Basnet has been appointed Acting Editor-in-Chief of Gorkhapatra Daily effective from Wednesday.

Basnet’s appointment follows Acting Editor-In-Chief Shiva Kumar Bhattarai’s retirement on age ground on Tuesday. The management of the Gorkhapatra Corporation on Tuesday appointed Basnet to the post.  

With over three decades of experience in the field of journalism, Basnet entered Gorkhapatra in 1993 as a sub-editor. He was serving as Executive Editor. Earlier, he also served as Acting Managing Editor of the Gorkhapatra Daily. 

After appointing him to the post of Acting Editor-In-Chief, the management of the corporation extended best wishes for his successful tenure.

Executive Chairman of Gorkhapatra Corporation Bishnu Prasad Subedi and General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi congratulated Basnet for his appointment. 

Chairman Subedi expressed confidence that Gorkhapatra would reach greater professional heights under the leadership of Basnet. 

General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi clarified that the appointment of Acting Editor-in-Chief Basnet was done in accordance with regular procedures, legal norms, and prevailing practices. 

Basnet said that Gorkhapatra Daily represents a proud dimension and expressed his commitment to uphold that pride and enhance its readability during his tenure.

Born in Nele, Solukhumbu, Basnet is the Vice President of the Society of Editors Nepal, a continuous member of the Federation of Nepali Journalists and former Central Treasurer of the Nepal Press Union.

Before entering journalism, Basnet was active in student politics and played a leading role in the political movements launched to restore democracy. During the 1990 political movement, he spent five months in detention.

An M. Phil. in Miscommunication and Journalism, Basnet has passed MA in Political Science and Economics from Tribhuvan University and Diploma in Development Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, India.   

Prior to this, Gorkhapatra Corporation bid farewell to Bhattarai. Bhattarai, who entered the Gorkhapatra Corporation in 1992 as a sub-editor, retired due to the age limit (58 years). 

He served in the corporation for 32 years, three months, and five days.

At the farewell programme held at the corporation on Tuesday, Executive Chairman Bishnu Prasad Subedi and General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi presented Bhattarai with a letter of appreciation and a token of love.