Nearly a week after senior officials emphasized the importance of public outreach programmes, the Indian Nuclear Society (INS) for the first time has officially barred the media from attending and covering its three-day conference beginning on Wednesday.
The meeting includes presenting the society's awards to several nuclear scientists for outstanding performance. Ironically, the awardees include the head of BARC's media relations and public awareness section, R K Singh, and an associate editor of a Chennai-based magazine. They have been given the INS science communication award.
The significance of public outreach and transparency was stressed by nuclear officials during the Homi Bhabha birth anniversary celebrations on October 30.
INS secretary Gursharan Singh told TOI that officially the media has not been invited and added that"if there is any lapse on our part, I apologize. But you can come if you want,a he said. He then went on to say that the media relations is being handled by the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) as the event is being held on its premises. When this newspaper approached G Srinivasan of NPC and enquired whether there was any particular reason why the media has been prevented from covering the proceedings this time he said: 'No particular reason.'