Veteran Itanagar-based journalist Taro Chatung breathed his last at a hospital in Naharlagun on October 26. Chatung, known for his unique style of video reporting, was undergoing treatment at Tamo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Science (TRIHMS), Naharlagun since last few days.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed grief and extended his condolences on the demise of the veteran journalist. “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,” Khandu said in a message.
Chatung was a pioneer of video journalism in the Northeast state. His interesting “to the point” interviews were an instant hit among the youth in the social media. Chatung’s interview-series during the PRC stalemate in the state has been widely shared across the social media.
On Saturday, chief minister Khandu remembered his long acquaintance with Chatung and hailed him as a man of immense historical and political knowledge of the state, grounded, sincere, straightforward, honest and witty.
“What made 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,” Khandu said.
He said Arunachal Pradesh will always be grateful to 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, 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.
The Chief Minister offered prayers for eternal peace of the departed soul while extending solidarity with family members, relatives and the media fraternity of the state.
In his last Facebook post on October 13, Taro Chatung had informed his fans and followers that he had developed some “serious problems” in his gall bladder and needed immediate medical attention. He had said that he was taking a month’s break after which he will return to the social media.
