The government will work to implement the Media Reform Commission's recommendations for the benefit of journalists, said Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam on Saturday.

He said that if a system existed to pay journalists regular salaries and allowances, welfare grants would not be necessary.

He made these remarks while distributing welfare grants to the families of deceased journalists and sick and indigent journalists, organised by the Bangladesh Journalists' Welfare Trust at the Information Building in Dhaka.

The adviser also said that efforts will be made to create a journalist-friendly system through discussions with media owners, editors, and other stakeholders.

He assured that necessary steps would be taken to expand the Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust’s scope of work.

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Information Secretary Mahbuba Farjana, speaking as a special guest, highlighted the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s efforts for journalists’ welfare.

She urged journalists to play a responsible role in combating rumours and propaganda, emphasising the need for objective news that protects the country’s interests.

Chaired by Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust Managing Director Muhammad Abdullah, Media Reforms Commission Chief Kamal Ahmed, National Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan, and journalists Muhammad Khairul Bashar, Sajid Arafat, and Mir Mushfiq Ahsan, also spoke.

During the event, donation cheques worth over Tk 1.93 crore were distributed to 374 journalists and their families, including 11 families of deceased journalists and 192 journalists suffering from various complex diseases.