Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has appealed to the media to play a supportive and positive role in the local body election together with the constitution implementation.

Addressing the 32nd anniversary programme of the Nepal Television (NTV) here on Monday, PM Dahal urged for the media's positive and constructive role in the government's plan of organising the local body elections along with the implementation of the constitution.

"We are at a very important phase of constitution implementation and the amendment process has been pursued to increase the broader acceptability of the constitution; the media has equally significant role to drive the country ahead towards the path of economic development with the implementation of the constitution," he said.

The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that Nepal Television which was set up in a form of a project in 2041 BS and started its regular transmission a year later will work as a bridge between the government and the people.

The PM stated that the State has always been respecting the fairness of the media and the editorial freedom as per the norms and values of democracy.

The PM also initiated the 'television digitalization' project. Speaking on the occasion, he hoped the NTV 's quality would also increase with its digitalization.

Minister for Information and Communications, Surendra Kumar Karki stressed that the mass media should raise the issues from the rural areas, especially of the oppressed communities, rather than being urban-centric.

Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi said the NTV should incorporate the voice and faces of the people living in the far-flung areas while at the same time standing out in the professional competition.

Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Mahendra Man Gurung shared that the Ministry was preparing to formulate the policy related to the State-owned media outlets on the basis of the Mass Communications Policy, 2073 BS.

NTV Board of Directors chairman Mahesh Dahal and president of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) NTV branch, Shalik Subedi laid emphasis on the career development of the employees.

On the occasion, 12 employees completing 30 years of service were conferred with the gold medal and 26 others completing 20 years of service with the 'Long Service Medal'.

Likewise, NTV employees Bharat Sharma (Palpa), Bidur Khawas (Dhankuta), Hiralal Chaudhary (Siraha), Mandira Thapa (Dolakha) and Shiva Silwal (Dhading) received cash prize of Rs 5,000 each. RSS