Imphal, Dec 2 (IANS): The media organisations in Manipur on Thursday asked the state government to clear the pending advertisement bills of various media houses by December 10, failing which, they will boycott the government.

Leaders of Editors' Guild Manipur (EGM) and the Manipur Hill Journalists' Union (MHJU) said that they recently urged Information and Public Relations Minister Th. Bishwajit Singh and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, to pay all pending government advertisement bills by December 10.

"In case of non-payment of the pending amounts, the print and electronic media would resort to unwanted steps, including media censure of the government policies and activities and even boycott government news, excluding the law and order issues," the joint letter of the EGM and MHJU said.

EGM president Khogendra Khomdram and MHJU president Peter Adani said that the bill amounts running into several lakhs of rupees each to print and electronic media remained unpaid for a long time. "The Covid-19 has taken its toll on the government and other establishments, including the media industry. But the media is an essential tool in fighting the pandemic. The media continues its work despite risk to the employees," Khomdram added.