Berhampur: The State’s only Braille press in Berhampur is all set to get a new building and two more computerised printing units at a cost of Rs 2.45 crore, said the reports.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the building and the Centre has sanctioned Rs 1.45 crore to set up two presses. In the first phase, the Centre has sanctioned Rs 72.53 lakh.
“Two Braille embossers, two computer sets with Braille software, online UPS and refreshable Braille display system will be installed with the fund,” said Red Cross Computerised Braille Press manager Prakash Narayan Rath.
At present, the Braille Press has only one computerised unit with printing capacity of 2,000 pages per hour. The Braille press was established in 1986 to print Braille books, particularly for school students in the state. It was computerised in 2013 with the installation of a computer machine and it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik October 3, 2013.
“Since this is the only Braille press in the state, we are supplying Braille textbooks for the students from class 1 to X”, said Rath. Besides, some rules and Acts of the government are printed in Braille here. A quarterly science magazine – Vigyan Digant –of Odisha Vigyan Academy is printed in Braille here. Similarly, the Braille calendar and government holidays has been printed at the press for the past seven years, he said.
“We will try to print Braille textbooks for Plus II and books for competitive examinations to benefit visually impaired students in the state,” he said.
“We will go ahead with construction of the building according to government direction,” said district social security officer Balaram Sethi.
PNN
