Mumbai | August 7 | Gurudatta Wakdekar
(Press) The prestigious Acharya Atre Award, presented by the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, has been announced this year for senior journalist and former union president Kumar Kadam. The award, instituted in memory of Acharya Atre, is funded by a donation from his daughter Shirish Pai and is presented annually on the occasion of his birth anniversary. The award includes a shawl, a coconut(shrifal), ₹11,000 in cash, and a commemorative plaque.
(Press) With over 54 years of experience in journalism, Kumar Kadam began his career as a student. His bold article titled “Stop the Bribe-Takers in Temples of Knowledge”, published in the Sunday edition of Loksatta, exposed corruption in the education sector and was among the first to raise a voice against compulsory donations in schools.
(Press) He began his full-time journalism journey in 1972 with the Ratnagiri-based daily Ratnabhumi, serving as its Mumbai correspondent for ten years. During this period, he also wrote a popular column titled “Ek Nazar in Municipal Corporation” in Saptahik Marmik. After the Emergency, he joined the Hindustan Samachar news agency, where he worked as a correspondent for 12 years.
In 1999, he founded the Maharashtra News Service (Mahavritt) and launched its digital platform mahavritt.com, serving as its editor-in-chief. He also worked for a decade as the Mumbai special correspondent for Dainik Pudhari (Kolhapur) and Dainik Tarun Bharat (Belgaum).
His column “Marathi Mulkhat Konkan” in Maharashtra Times gained widespread recognition for its sharp commentary on Konkan-related issues. He continued the column from July 2001 to September 2014, creating a remarkable record of consistent writing on a single regional subject in a metropolitan daily.
In his notable article titled “The Mega Web of Mega Mumbai”, published on August 22, 2005, in Maharashtra Times, he was one of the first journalists to warn against the environmental and social risks posed by the proposed SEZ project in Raigad district.
Presently, Kumar Kadam is actively engaged in organ donation awareness campaigns at the state level and leads several other social initiatives. In 1983, during his tenure as President of the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, he led a protest march to Mantralaya, demanding more Marathi programming on Doordarshan. The protest included renowned personalities like Sudhir Phadke, and it significantly contributed to increasing Marathi content on the Sahyadri channel.
The entire Rayat Samachar team extends its heartfelt congratulations to veteran journalist Kumar Kadam on this well-deserved honour.