The State’s lone Government Printing Press for Braille in Mysuru has become non-operational once again. The printing press, which was repaired a few months ago, after spending a few lakhs, has broken down.
The machine broke down during the beginning of the current academic year. This led to disruption in the printing of Braille textbooks, and supply to over 34 schools, including four government schools, was delayed.
The Directorate for the Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens subsequently gave its nod to outsource printing of the textbooksto avoid inconveniencing students.
The motherboard was sent to Norway to the manufacturer for repair and a few lakhs was spent on the repair.
A Lucknow-based engineer, who had reportedly installed the machine, had been approached by the director to check whether the machine can be repaired again.
The press received the machine (which has broken down) under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme for faster printing, as the previous machine had become obsolete.
Prints around 10,000 copiesOn an average, the press prints around 10,000 copies of textbooks in a year. It also prints and distributes Braille books on general knowledge, music, Kannada and English grammar.
The press provides books to visually impaired children in primary schools free of cost, and charges one-third of the printing cost for books supplied to high school students.
Nominal costs are collected for class 8 to 10 textbooks owing to fewer volumes and use of expensive material, according to sources.
There are plans by the directorate to seek financial assistance from the Mysore City Corporation, which has set aside 3 per cent of funds in its budget for the welfare of persons with disabilities, to buy a Braille printing machine.
A senior official, who retired from the directorate recently, told The Hindu : “There are chances of getting a new machine as funds have been assured for the purchase of a state-of-the-art machine to prevent interruptions in printing.”
