ITANAGAR, Oct 26: Pioneer journalist and film maker Taro Chatung passed away at a Govt hospital here on Saturday morning after a brief illness. He was 56.
Chatung, who was undergoing treatment at Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), Naharlagun breathed his last at 10.30 this morning. He is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.
The veteran journalist’s body was taken to his residence here at Mowb-2 for the well wishers to pay their last homage, and then to Arunachal Press Club (APC) where journalists paid their rich tributes.
Chatung was called as the pioneer of the Electronic Media in Arunachal Pradesh. His last rites would be performed at his birthplace, Ziro in Lower Subsansiri district on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Governor Brig (Retd) Dr B D Mishra and Chief Minister Pema Khandu have led the people of the State in mourning the sad and premature demise of Chatung.
While condoling the sudden demise of senior journalist Taro Chatung, the Governor said that in the demise of Chatung the State of Arunachal Pradesh has lost one of the pioneers in the fields of electronic journalism and film making.
“I wish to express my deepest condolences to his family, the media fraternity especially those he worked with. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” the Governor said.
Expressing grief over the demise of the veteran journalist, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said, “It breaks my heart to know Chatung sir is no more with us. We grew up hearing about him and watched him on ‘News & Views’ every evening through the week days on DDK Itanagar. It would be impossible to fill the void he has left behind as the omnipresent journalist”.
“What made Late Chatung sir stand out as human being was his extreme love and dedication for his chosen profession. He could go to any extent to extract the truth and present it before the public,” he said.
He said Arunachal Pradesh will always be grateful to Late Taro Chatung, who despite landing up with a prestigious government job, chose media as his profession and become its pioneer in the state.
“Without thinking of monitory gains, Late Chatung sir followed his passion and became one of the firsts to direct and produce a full-length feature film in Hindi. With his ‘News & Views’ breaking all records in terms of viewership, he can be well called as the father of electronic media in Arunachal Pradesh. We owe him a lot,” Khandu said in his condolence message.
The CM offered prayers for eternal peace of the departed soul while extending solidarity with family members and relatives.
Condoling his death, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, in a tweet, said: “I am deeply saddened by the passing away of senior journalist Taro Chatung ji. He had a passion for journalism. His untimely demise is a great loss for the Press Fraternity & the State as a whole. My condolences to the grieving family members & to the Press fraternity.”
“I'm deeply saddened by the news of passing away of veteran journalist Taro Chatung Ji. His sudden demise is an irreparable loss to the state,” Arunachal Assembly Speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona said in his condolence message.
The Speaker also prayed to the almighty God for eternal peace of his departed soul and also to give strength to bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.
The name of Taro Chatung, a veteran journalist will always be remembered by the people of state as a whole though he will never appeared again in any event of the state, said a saddened ex-MLA Nani Ribia.
We never ever believed that Taro Chatung will leave us so early and his pre mature dead has created a vacuum in the state, he said.
Further, he conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed to almighty God to bless his departed soul to have eternal peace.
The sudden demise of veteran journalist Taro Chatung has shocked the entire media community in the state. Arunachal Press Club, Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, and Arunachal Electronic and Digital Media Association have termed his demise as ‘saddest day for the state media history’.
In its condolence message to the family members, the media bodies said, “An inspirational figure of the state media has gone and left a vacuum that young journalists will hard to fill”. Terming him as father of state media, it further stated that his contributions to the field of journalism are unsurpassable. The media bodies deeply condoled at his demise and prayed for his eternal peace.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Publishers & Broadcasters Guild has mourned the demise of veteran journalist Taro Chatung. The Guild while expressing shock over his untimely demise remembered late Chatung as a legend who laid the foundations of electronic journalism in the state.
"He won viewers with his unique reporting style. His popular TV show 'News & Views' is iconic and unmatchable till date," the Guild said.
The AP&BG extended its condolences to the grieving family and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
In the meantime, the Tanw Supuii Dukuii (TSD) has expressed shock over the untimely demise of Taro Chatung.
“He was not only the true icon of Arunachal Pradesh but a living legend with multifaceted personality whose achievements and contributions for the development of our State through his free thinking and die hard attitude has not only changed the mind set of every Arunachalee but also set the bench mark for all of us to work, independently with true professional approach,” said TSD.
With his demise, not only our community but the entire Arunachal has lost the true son of the State, it said in its condolence message to Eli Bina Taro, the widow of Late Chatung.
TSD offered condolence to the bereaved family members and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
The Arunachal Citizen’s Right also condoled the demise of the veteran journalist.
Calling it an irreparable loss to the state, it recalled the contribution of Late Chatung towards ACR’s movement against corruption and campaign for good governance.
The premature death of pioneer journalist Taro Chatung has come as a shock to the Arunachal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI). His unique style had made him “people’s journalist’ for his calibre to link himself to the hearts of the masses by raising their issues, it said.
ACCI led by president Tarh Nachung, vice president-cum-PRO Toko Prakash and chief adviser Pradeep Kumar joined the mourners in conveying deep sense of condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
While expressing profound grief over the sad and untimely demise of Taro Chatung, the All Arunachal Pradesh Public Transport Federation (AAPPTF) said that he will be remembered for his immense contribution as a pioneer journalist and social activist. A role model for many in his profession and beyond, his demise ends an era of journalism of courage and values and at the same time leaves behind a rich legacy in the field, it said.
The AAPPTF extended its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, state media fraternity and well wishers.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU)while offering condolences to the bereaved family has observed two minutessilence, as a mark of respect to veteran journalist late Taro Chatung.
Meanwhile, the Rajiv Gandhi University Research Scholars’Forum has expressed grief over the death of veteran journalist Taro Chatungsaying that his demise is a great loss to Arunachal’s journalism.