Orissa journalists protest attacks

BHUBANESWAR - Carrying placards and banners, more than 100 journalists staged a demonstration in the Orissa capital Thursday to protest the increasing attacks on mediapersons in the state in recent months.

The journalists, under the banner Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP), staged the demonstration on Mahatma Gandhi Marg.

“More than a dozen journalists were attacked during this year and in most cases the police failed to take action against the culprits,” Prasanta Patnaik, a senior journalist and one of the demonstrators, said.

Journalists associated with the MUFP have met top state police and administrative authorities seeking their intervention, but there was little response, he said.