Crusader against big dams bestowed with prestigious Ramnath Goenka excellence in journalism award.

The recipient of the coveted Ram Nath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, sr journalist n news anchor in NDTV Sushil Bahuguna deserves all appreciation n applause for his outstanding work in making documentaries on peoples’ problems especially those pertaining to the environmental hazards and displacement of poor n hapless villagers of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand as well as other states reeling under abject poverty and becoming the incessant victims of the loot of the powers that be who arbitrarily accord massive contracts for huge dams thus leading to gigantic environmental hazards n displacement of civilisation.

Sr. investigative journalist of NDTV is the first journalist who had despite carrying out his usual duties as an anchor n newsreader in NDTV for several years has left no stone unturned to visit the high mountaineous terrains with his camera crew under unforeseen n challenging circumstances in 2013 June’s massive eclogical disaster and captured exclusive situations exposing the corrupt administrations n negligent officers n the system to ensure that due justice n relief is accorded to the actual sufferers.

His outstanding coverage and documentaries on ecological disaster of 2013 in Kedar valley, massive migration n exodus of villagers to cities, towns n metropolises from the Uttarakhand villages highlighting the abject poverty n woes of women thereafter and aftermath consequences of Pancheshwar Dam on the River Mahakali in the Kumaon n Nepal region likely to displace more than 30 thousand families living there since ages have been lauded and appreciated by one and all.

The prestigious GOENKA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM bestowed on him by the union home minister Raj Nath Singh in the new year 2019, for the third consecutive year is indeed a matter of immense pride for the jornalistic fraternity of the country as well to the oppressed n depressed people of Uttarakhand who are unfortunately becoming the dire victims of the huge dams considered to be anti environment as well as anti civilization but unfortunately continued to go ahead with such coffer dams.

While wishing Sushil Bahuguna all the very best for this coveted recognition I wish, the successive governments learn lesson while awarding journalists like Sushil Bahuguna by putting a permanent full stop on the big dam projects in the country, once for all in the near future.

Primarily belonging to Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Sushil Bahuguna carved a niche for himself in journalism by his hard, dedicated n intellectual commitment to his profession by being a journalist with impeccable integrity. Today, he is a name of professional integrity in Indian journalism who’d taken up the cause of the poor, hapless, down troddens n the neglected with his hard n dilligent work. His third recognition speaks of this hard fact.