The media department of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the Delhi Malayali Halqa organised a felicitation programme to honour Ms Rejeena Nallalam, a winner of the prestigious “Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.” This was the fifth Goenka awards instituted by the Express Group, to recognise the outstanding work done in the field of journalism in the year 2009. She received the Regional Languages award in print media.
Rejeena, who hails from a rural middle class family, joined Madhyamam, a Malayali daily with nine overseas editions, in 2008 as a sub-editor. Rejeena, mother of a four-year old, received the award for the story she did in 2009, where she brought the plight of the villagers living adjacent to Calicut (Kozhikode) into light.
In her speech at the felicitation programme, which was then translated into English, she talked about the serious issue of garbage dumping from Calicut into the adjacent villages leading to serious problems. The garbage which is a mix of plastic, bio-waste and medical waste is aggravating the worries of the people and causing hygiene problems and hazardous health issues, she said. The stench of the garbage is unbearable and one cannot pass the stretch without covering the nose. The massive garbage dump has affected the water of the village and has caused various skin problems among men and women. The story was published in 2009; however the sad part is that the problem still persists and nothing has been done to mitigate the worries of the villagers. Rejeena, while receiving the award, lamented this fact when she said: “Here I receive award, but the issue is still unresolved.”
Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Asalm, Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, praised the outstanding work done by Rejeena and reminded the audience about media being the fourth pillar of democracy. He said journalism must have moral sense and should portray the actual happenings without any fabrication. Mr. Mujtaba Farooq, president Welfare Party of India, felicitated Rejeena and congratulated her for her work. Her husband Saifuddin, also a journalist at Madhyamam, was also present at the function.