PUNE: To condemn the deficiencies in the system that led to the death of a reporter with a news channel due to COVID-19, a journalists' body here has appealed its members to wear black ribbons while at work.
The journalist, admitted to a newly-created jumbo care facility in the city, died on Wednesday morning.
He was to be shifted to a private hospital when his condition worsened, but according to his family members, a cardiac ambulance did not become available in time.
"We condemn the slack political and administrative elements in the system which were responsible for the death of the journalist, and we will continue to hold protest phase by phase till the time he gets justice," the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) said in a statement.
As part of the protest, it has appealed journalists to wear black ribbons while at work for the next eight days, it said.
It also sought an immediate inquiry into the death, and a payment of Rs 50 lakh insurance -- which is provided to the families of frontline workers -- to his kin, and warned of an agitation if demands were not met.