A Raja opposes merger of govt press in city with Nashik press

Coimbatore: Nilgiris MP A Raja has urged the Centre to drop the plan to merge the Government of India press in the city with the press in Nashik.
In a letter shot off to union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently, Raja said instead the presses at Koratty in Kerala and Mysuru in Karnataka could be merged with the Coimbatore press, which has a lot of land and infrastructure.“Employees of Koratty and Mysuru could be accommodated in Coimbatore,” he said.
Government of India press in Coimbatore was established in 1964 under the second five-year plan to cater to the printing needs of both the central and state governments. In its 132-acre campus, the printing unit is spread across 24 acres. There are 463 housing units for employees, hospital for labourers and a huge infrastructure, the MP said.
The DMK leader said the decision to merge the Coimbatore press with Nashik press was taken when the former was having work orders for the next four years. Pointing out that the Union cabinet had also decided to merge the Koratty and Mysuru presses with Nashik press, he said, “It will result in regional imbalance and mental agony to employees. The merger decision was prepared neglecting labour welfare, industrial disputes act, voluntary retirement scheme and local redeployment.’’ Raja said rather than merging Koratty, Mysuru and Coimbatore presses with Nashik press, the former two could be merged with Coimbatore press.