AIFMP offers monetary help to flood-affected printers in J&K

The series of floods that occurred in Jammu & Kashmir in India and Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab regions of Pakistan between 2 and 26 September 2014, claimed around 277 in India and 280 in Pakistan. Total 2,550 villages were affected and around 80,000 people were evacuated.

The city’s 100-odd printers were the worst-affected in the flood, as water gushed into their shopfloors (most of which were located in basements) and not only destroyed the raw materials, but also rendered the machines useless.

As a token of goodwill, the delegation from AIFMP, comprising Vijay Mohan, vice-resident, North, Arvind Mardikar, joint secretary, and Ashwani Gupta, treasurer, distributed cheques worth Rs 32,000 each to 36 local printers.

Meanwhile, on 1 August, the federation members distributed cheques among four printers in Jammu. Here, two printers were given Rs 1 lakh each and one printer was given a help of Rs 2 lakh and another was given a cheque of Rs 50,000.

According to Anand Limaye, general secretary, AIFMP, the federation conducted an audit and found that these printers from Jammu were worse affected in the flood, as they did not have insurances and they did not also get any help from the government.

Meanwhile, the office bearers of the Kashmir Printers Association, including Shabir Ahmad (president), GN Bangroo (general secretary), S Irshad (vice president), Surinder Singh Sethi (chief organiser) and Hilal Ahmad (publicity secretary) described the occasion as a historical event for the printers of the Kashmir Valley.

“We are thankful to AIFMP, especially for the efforts made by the president Dev Nair and general secretary Anand Limaye to make this event possible,” said Shabir Ahmad, president, KPA.

While giving away the cheques, Arvind Madikar, said, “We know that this is quite little, as you have suffered immensely. But this is a token that represents our solidarity with you.”

“We thank all the office bearers and the members of Kashmir Printers Association for their hospitality and for organising such a good show,” said Ashwani Gupta.

“It was indeed a proud moment in the history of the federation, where we could stand by our fellow printers in whatever meager way we could,” said Anand Limaye.

“It was indeed a pleasure for AIFMP to be able to do whatever we could for the betterment of the fraternity, especially when our members suffered losses due to the natural calamity,” said Dev Nair, president, AIFMP.