Awarded, but all’s not well with Ramakrishna mission braille press

KOLKATA: Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narendrapur, has pulled off a double feat this year by bagging two national awards, but the euphoria might be short-lived as the Ashram-run Regional Braille Press, one of the recipients, is staring at a premature death for want of funds.
“We are happy that we could repeat history. The Blind Boys’ Academy has been adjudged the best institution for education to children with disabilities for the third time and the Regional Braille Press has received the Best Braille Press National Award 2016.But we would have been happier if we could continue with the good work. Given the present situation, it looks very difficult to run the press,” said Swami Sarvalokananda, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narendrapur.
As per a tripartite agreement (a copy is with TOI) signed in 1998, the Centre had committed to bear 75% of the operating cost of the press and the state the rest. However, for the last two years, the Ashram hasn’t received any funds from the Centre. “We are taking loans to run the press but it would be impossible to survive like this for long. We don’t know what will happen to thousands of visually impaired kids who solely depend on this press for books,” rued Arup Chatterjee, manager of the ailing braille press.
The braille press is the only one in eastern India and supplies books — at a subsidized rate, and often free of cost — to around 75 special schools across Bengal, apart from those in Assam, Manipur and Tripura.
The Ashram, however, has no clue about why the funds have dried up. “At times, they say there is some problem with the newly introduced online process to apply for funds. Then came a communication that funds have been kept on hold to weed out fraud NGOs. Some officials also claimed the papers we had submitted were lost. On one hand the Centre is rewarding us for the good work and on the other, it has stopped funds for the press,” Swami Sarvalokananda said.
The press is entitled for around Rs 38 lakh per year from the Centre. According to sources, it had received the first instalment in 2014-15 and since then, the Ashram has been bearing the cost. “We get the state’s share but that’s not enough. Also, the state should increase the manpower in the press. We started off with 13 staffers in 1967 and we still have as many employees. The work, however, has increased many times over. We used to supply books to two-three special schools then. Now we have close to 100 such schools,” Chatterjee said.
Swami Sarvalokananda received the awards from President Pranab Mukherjee on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. But more than the awards, the Ashram is waiting for the Centre to disburse the funds stuck in limbo for two years now.
“We are switching to online from the offline system. So there has been a delay. Funds would be disbursed soon,” said Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, deputy director general of the ministry of social justice and empowerment who recently inspected the press on Narendrapur campus.