Oriental Insurance Company, a Government of India undertaking, has donated a Braille printer to Blind Persons’ Association of Kolkata. The Swedish machine, purchased at a cost of Rs. 2.8 lakh, will increase the production capacity of the Braille printing facility of the organisation at Lal Bihari Shah Braille Academia. The printer was inaugurated by Shri Benudhar Basumatari, Deputy General Manager of Oriental Insurance, Kolkata in front of the sightless members and volunteers of the Association on November 1, 2017. Shri Basumatari in his short speech expressed the hope that it will help the organisation in producing Braille books and catering to the needs of the sightless students. Dr. Hajra, the Marketing Manager of the company, was also present on the occasion.
Blind Persons’ Association has been conducting this press since 2003 and providing Braille books to blind students and readers at the rate of Rs. 10 per volume. This token price is charged, said President Shri Narayan Ganguly, to make sure that these books, costing about Rs. 100 per volume on paper cost, are not wasted as free gifts. Institutions are supplied these books at just paper cost. The deficit of the production cost is met from the generous contributions from donors. Donation to the organisation is eligible for exemption from Income Tax under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Books produced by this organisation are dispatched all over India using the free postal facility. Willing readers may check the list of available Braille books and place an order by email. The list includes Braille books in English and Bengali for readers of all ages, with priority on needs of college students. Among the titles are computer manuals, college text-books of literature, history and philosophy, children’s fiction and even detective stories in by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. The organisation has a unit for production of audio books which are supplied absolutely free or at the cost of the CD.
