From correspondents in India, 05:34 PM IST

The sixth Sarojini Naidu Prizes for best reporting on women in panchayati raj were presented here Monday to three journalists, including IANS special correspondent Syed Zarir Hussain.

Guwahati-based Hussain was selected in the English category for his article 'Harbinger of change' that describes the crusade of a woman panchayati leader against alcoholism in Assam's tea gardens.

Hemanta Barman, editor of Assamese daily Dainik Janambhumi, was selected in the other Indian language category for his article 'Self-confident women'.

In the Hindi section, Bihar-based Kavindra Narayan Srivastava of PTI won for his piece 'Money for development should be given to panchayats and not to members of parliament'.

All the winners of the prize instituted by the Hunger Project received Rs.200,000 and a citation. Shuriah Niazi, a Bhopal-based journalist, received a special jury citation for his Urdu article 'Thwarting women in power'.

The awards were presented by Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said after the institution of the panchayati raj institutions in the country, the number of elected representatives had increased remarkably.

He said a study would soon be conducted for assessing the performance of women in panchayat institutions.

A book entitled 'Thus Spoke the Press' - a compilation of the 60 best reports on women in panchayati raj in the print media - was also released on the occasion.

The Hunger Project is a global movement of women and men committed to build a future free from hunger.

In more than 10,000 villages across 13 countries of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, the Hunger Project empowers millions of people to achieve lasting progress in health, nutrition and family income.

This year, a total of 1,517 entries were received, of which 69 were short-listed. The jury consisted of George Matthew, director, Institute of Social Science; Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, secretary, ministry of panchayati raj; Sushma Iyengar of Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan; noted filmmaker Aparna Sen and The Hindu editor N. Ram.

- Indo Asian News Service

(Staff Writer, © IANS)