KOCHI: The printers are longing for government aid as the mid-August flood damaged several printing presses and machineries in the state. According to Kerala Master Printers Association, printers in different parts of the state have incurred a long-term loss of Rs 400 crore due to the deluge.
Without any government aid, the printers will fall into the abyss of a debt trap, said O Venugopal, Vice President, All-India Federation of Master Printers. Around 75 big and small printing presses were damaged following the flood.
“A majority of the printing presses located in Aluva, Chalakudy, Perumbavoor, Cheranalloor, Eloor, and Udyogamandal suffered damage. Apart from it printing presses in Kozhikode, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha also were inundated. Damage to machinery and facilities come to Rs 150 crores. Considering the loss of business, the total loss will rise up to Rs 400 crores,” he said. Since the majority of these printing presses were using foreign-made machines, it will not be cheap to repair them. And most of the printing machines were bought on loans. “These machines are worth crores of rupees and a majority of the presses were purchased on bank loans.
The debt will mount up as it will take nearly six months to repair and restart operations. It will be of great help if government announces some financial aid or interest-free loans now,” he said.A majority of the printing presses don’t have insurance cover to claim compensation, said R Gopakumar, president of Kerala Master Printers Association. “Nobody anticipated the possibility of a flood of this scale. Usually, we take insurance against fire accidents. Even big printing presses don’t have insurance covers to claim damages after the flood. The insurance firms are also very slow in procedures, and they try their best to reduce the claim amount,” he said.
Worst affected are employees of these printing presses as they will have no work for the next several months. More than 1,000 families depend on these printing presses for their livelihood. A majority of them have also lost their houses and household goods during the flood. With no work, it will be a daunting task for them to restart their lives.