Shailesh Tanpure
The events that took place past few days in Goan politics had the public glued to the screens for the latest updates. Information was being disseminated at a very fast pace. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram provided the audiences with real-time updates of the events that transpired after the passing of Manohar Parrikar. Live videos, photos and videos were available online even at 2am in the morning from the scenes of action.
However, the journalists who made this possible suffered a great deal. Some of them went without sleep for over 48 hours. Some of them who managed to get some sleep, did not sleep for more than three hours.
The profession is criticised for being biased, being a paid reporters or being unethical. Some journalists do indulge in those things but there are many who work very hard to inform the public, and they deserve to be appreciated.
The journalists spent the corresponding night of Sunday and Monday at a hotel in Dona Paula where the negotiations between BJP and its allies were being undertaken. They had been working for more than 12 hours by now. Many of them were hungry and thirsty.
Most of the journalists were at the hotel till 5 am. However, nothing concrete came out of the meeting except for a few clues as to who are the frontrunners to be the next chief minister of Goa. The next morning, on Monday, they had to rush to cover Manohar Parrikar’s funeral at the Kala Academy and the events taking place at the Raj Bhavan (Governor’s residence) when Congress had gone there to stake claim to form the government. After Parrikar’s cremation, negotiations continued at the Dona Paula hotel on who will be part of the cabinet after Pramod Sawant takes over as the CM.
By now the journalists had been on the field since morning but the day was not to end so soon. They had to head to the Raj Bhavan to cover the swearing in ceremony of Sawant. The time given to them was 11 pm but the negotiations at the Dona Paula hotel were delayed and the journalists had to wait for almost two hours outside the Governor’s residence.
A convoy of vehicles made its way towards the Governor’s residence just a few minutes past midnight, flashing their bright white lights. This prompted a flurry of activities at the scene. However after letting a few cars inside, the gates were closed and rest of the convoy was stranded outside for almost half an hour. The journalists were desperately waiting to get inside to cover the proceedings.
Finally, the gates were opened and the journalists had to rush towards the residence. Some went on their bikes while some just started jogging towards it while holding their equipment and the rest took a lift from the vehicles that had come with the legislators. At this point, most of the journalists were severely sleep deprived.
Before entering the Durbar Hall, where the swearing-in was taking place, they were stopped twice. Once from entering the Governor’s house and the second time outside the hall. They were not allowed inside for another 20 minutes. The journalists were stuck on the staircase outside the hall. After many requests and a threat to boycott the ceremony, the journalists were allowed to enter the hall. There was almost a stampede in a rush to enter.
The hall was very small to hold the number of people that had arrived. Most of them were left standing in close proximity to each other in high humidity. There were no provisions for water or to use the bathroom. Many of the journalists had not had their dinner and were also dehydrated. They had been on their feet since the previous evening.
Once inside the hall, the journalists had to stand for over an hour before the swearing in took place. Many TV journalists were stuck at the back with their cameraman unable to get in front to cover the event. Finally when the oaths were administered, the journalists felt a little relieved to be able to leave the congested room but the end of ceremony meant they had to rush to take bytes and quotes from the legislators.
After sending the information to their offices, the journalists could finally head home. Many of them had to travel in a sleep deprived state. However, I believe the coverage of the events taking place after Parrikar’s passing and till Sawant’s swearing in were covered well.
