India Today; Shyamlal Yadav; New Delhi, September 20, 2010;
An RTI-based story published in India Today last year is among the finalists for the 2010 Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA), an annual competition open to journalists in the Asia-Pacific region.
Awarded by the Tokyo-based Asian Development Bank Institute, the DAJA is focused on four themes: urbanization, environmental issues, rebalancing economic growth in the wake of the global financial crisis, and regional cooperation and integration.
Making it to the finals is India Today's Associate Editor Shyamlal Yadav's Streams of Filth, published in the December 28 2009 issue.
The story shows how the pollution control mechanism under National River Conservation Project (NRCP) have failed despite spending over Rs. 3892 crores on 38 prominent rivers in 20 states and 167 towns.
The story was a result of over 30 RTI Applications, appeals and reminders filed to the Ministry of Environment of Forests, Central Pollution Control Board and various state Pollution Control Boards.
Since, there were number of stories on mythological rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, India Today's effort was to bring out the picture of all the rivers covered under NRCP.
Masahiro Kawai, dean and CEO of the ADBI, said at the announcement of this year's competition, said, "The DAJA competition is a unique opportunity to highlight the significant contribution of journalism and individual journalists to the development process in Asia."
The awards will be given in each category with special awards for "Development Journalist of the Year" and "Young Development Journalist of the Year."
The awards ceremony, along with a three-day workshop for finalists, will be in Tokyo between November 17 and 19.
Yadav will be joining other finalists in Tokyo in November for a special forum focusing on journalism and development issues, and the DAJA Awards ceremony.
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