Central Railways’ iconic printing press in central Mumbai’s Byculla area is expected to shut down soon, if a report published by The Times of India on 16 August is to be believed. The press was opened in 1895 and initially was the hub of printing activities for the Great Indian Peninsula Railways, printing everything from tickets to railway stationery.
The decision to shut down the press comes after the railway ministry late last year proposed to close all the railway printing presses, which the ministry now considers part of ‘unproductive ventures’. In fact, the proposal to close all the 16 printing presses owned by the Indian Railways across the country first found mention in 2001 in the Rakesh Mohan Committee report. The idea of closing the presses was formally proposed last year by the railway ministry in the aftermath of the tragic incident of stampede that took place at the Elphinstone Road railway station in September 2017. Following the unfortunate stampede incident, a high-level meeting was held by railway minister Piyush Goyal, wherein the chairman and other railway board officials also participated. Certain important decisions were taken in the said meeting, including closure of railway printing presses.
There is a reason why the railway ministry considers these presses part of ‘unproductive ventures’. According to The Times of India, out of the 16 presses owned by the railways, only five presses are operational across the country. All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) has opposed the ministry’s decision stating that closure of the presses will disrupt lives of the employees and their families. However, the ministry has gone forward with its decision and in July, the railways closed the Mahalaxmi printing press, also in Mumbai, which was under the Western Railways.
The Byculla press under the Central Railways was the hub of printing activities before the onset of computers. Items such as tickets, receipts, time tables, documents and books meant for railways was printed at the Byculla press. “There was a time when 25 crore tickets were printed for Central Railways annually. Gradually the strength of employees, too, has come down from around 1,200 to 350,” an employee at the press told The Times of India.
The local railway unions have now opposed the decision to shut the Byculla press. One union member told The Times of India that if work is outsourced to private printing presses, these presses may not be able to meet large requirements on time. However, a Central Railways official was more pragmatic. “The railways are run as a socialist organization, but time has come to cut wasteful expenditure and deploy human resources for more productive work in operations, safety or commercial department. No decision has been taken on shutting down the press, but employees will be rehabilitated in other departments with no loss in pay scale,” the employee told The Times of India.
