New Delhi: Following a 5-year ban sought on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)and its reporter Justin Rowlatt by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the network has said that its ‘programme’ on conservation of rhinoceros at the Kaziranga National Park was a “balanced and impartial” report and that any such reaction [ban] to a report on an important global issue like the appropriate way to combat poaching would be extremely disappointing.
The documentary in question titled `One World: Killing for Conservation’ had reporter Justin Rowlatt claiming that forest guards in Kaziranga had been given powers to shoot and kill anyone they think was a threat to rhinos.
On Monday, February 27, the NTCA said BBC had failed to submit the documentary to MoEFCC and Ministry of External Affairs for obligatory previewing “in order to remove any deviations, so as to achieve a balanced and accurate exposition of the theme” and urged the Ministry of External Affairs to revoke the visas of BBC’s South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt and his crew, and prevent “their further entry into India, for a period not less than five years and also disallow filming permission to the BBC in any protected area of the country for a period of five years”.
As per a report, the international broadcaster had said that he was not in receipt of any notification of a ban from the authorities.
The BBC statement was circulated by Perfect Relations, a public relations company. It also stated that the BBC has “approached the relevant government authorities to ensure their position was fully reflected but they declined to take part”.
