“Like all good things in this world, Red Sanders also fell prey to the greed of man,” says CJI Ramana.
New Delhi: On Wednesday, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said that the concept of investigative journalism is vanishing from the Indian media. He states that ‘have witnessed newspaper reports on scandals’ but he recalls any story of such magnitude in recent years. The CJI was seen quoting so on the book launch of “Blood Sanders: The Great Forest Heist”, written by journalist Sudhakar Reddy Udumula.
“In the past, we have witnessed newspaper reports on scandals and misconduct creating waves, leading to serious consequences. (But) barring one or two, I don’t recall any story of such magnitude in recent years. Everything in our garden appears to be rosy. I leave it to you to arrive at your own conclusions,” the CJI said.
Thinking of his association with the author, the CJI said Reddy’s family came from a village close to his native place in Andhra Pradesh. “I am reminded of my village, good old days, and great friends. I have been longing to visit my village. (I) hope to do so very soon,” he said in Telugu.
“As a person whose first job was that of a journalist, I am taking the liberty to share a few thoughts on present-day media,” CJI Ramana said. “The concept of investigative journalism is, unfortunately, vanishing from the media canvas – it is true at least in the Indian context. When we were growing up, we eagerly looked forward to newspapers exposing big scandals; the newspapers (then) never disappointed us.”
The CJI had initially started his career with the ‘Eenadu’ Newspaper as a Journalist.
Regarding the subject of the book, the CJI stated red sandalwood trees are facing the threat of extinction. “Like all good things in this world, Red Sanders also fell prey to the greed of man.”
“According to an estimate presented by the author, in the last two decades, nearly 60 lakh Red Sanders trees were cut,” he said. “Smuggling from the forest area spread over 5,30,097 hectares resulted in the arrest of over 2,000 persons from the neighbouring state alone. Many have lost lives. Lawbreakers, as well as enforcers of the law, suffered fatalities.”
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