SHIMLA- Dwarka Prasad Uniyal, a veteran journalist of Shimla , who remained active for more than 50 years, passed away yesterday at Vikasnagar near Dehradun.
As soon as I opened Facebook in the morning. It was with news and obituary from Shimla based senior journalist P.C. Lohumi, who is also active journalist of that age, K.S. Tomar, Shimla based journalist and Ganesh Dutt, an Editor of a Weekly for the last decades or so.
They eulogize services of Dwarka Prasad Uniyal for the profession particularly small newspapers and raising the vital issues of farmers.
Uniyal passing away took me also memory lane back to eighty, when Ram Rattan Paul, Kameshwar Pandit and Bishambhar Lal Sud were the Editors of the Weeklies published from Shimla.
They were respected by Higherups in the Government, bureaucrats, and people at large and unfortunately none of them is in this world today.
The reasons why they command respect was that they were totally devoted to the profession, upright, outspoken and also know public nerve.
At the time the modes of communication in Himachal Pradesh was limited due to difficult hilly topography and reach of the main stream media was also very limited.
It was small newspapers which used to reach in far flung areas;
I have seen Dwarka Parsad uniyal to interact often with the then Directors in the Information and Public Relations Department, late Hari Krishan Mitto, Chhatar Singh Panwar, S.K. Bedi and H.L. Vaidya and when tried to peep into the truth as I have newly joined the Department.
I came to know that they used to discuss various matters which were of Government interest as well as public interest.
Their information used to be a good source of feedback, one of the most important task of the Department . They were so trustworthy and a good link of the Department. He has a special affection with PR people.
No doubt, the passing away of D.P. Uniyal is a great loss for Journalistic fraternity as well as to the PR fraternity.
May God give peace to the departed soul and strength to Ajay and Arun, sons who are also journalists and other family members. Om Shanti.