KMPA appeals all to contribute generously to help the flood affected people.
In a letter written to AIFMP (All India Federation of Master Printers), KMPA (Kerala Master Printers Association) apprised the apex body of Printing Industry in India of the critical situation in the southern state of Kerala, seriously bruised by the recent massive flood situation.
The state has been in the midst of unprecedented rainfall and flood havoc for the past few days and the calamity has caused immeasurable misery and devastation. Due to the relentless rains most of the dams in Kerala are open and hence almost all rivers in the state are overflowing above the danger level. Many cities, towns and villages are facing severe flooding. Many lives have been lost. Thousands of houses are destroyed or damaged.
With infrastructure like roads and bridges collapsing on a large scale floods washing away shops and commercial establishments, thousands have lost their livelihood. The water level is still alarmingly high and crops are submerged to bring an unceasing misery to general public. Kerala has never witnessed a calamity of such scale and the exact figure and extent of loss are difficult to assess right now.
Despite all the odds the entire State machinery, Police, Fire Force, Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, Coast Guard, Disaster Response Force and the general public worked in unison to put up an exemplary effort to save lives, rescue stranded people, relocate people to safe camps, provide food, drinking water and clothes.
As for the Printing Industry, many of the printing and allied industries in the state are situated in low lying areas. People from the printing industry have suffered huge losses due to this devastation. Some units have suffered such huge damages that it may take several months to make good. Due to the flood situation, it is still hard to get exact reports. KMPA is taking stock of the situation by contacting members and gathering more information from them.
Now the most important task before the people of Kerala is to bring life back to normalcy. We appeal to the people of the nation to come together for this effort. The Central Government has promised all possible assistance to the State, but we all are well aware that government support alone cannot bring the people of the State back on their feet. It can only be done through magnanimous assistance from individuals and Associations. With compassionate efforts and generous contributions we can reduce the suffering of the people of Kerala from this calamity.
KMPA is arranging all possible help to those affected. The association has urged the parent body, AIFMP to contribute generously towards the relief efforts and also forward this appeal to all affiliate Associations requesting them to also join hands in efforts to bring aid to Kerala.
KMPA has started to work in various levels to understand the real extent of the disaster and plan what is to be done for the Printing fraternity. KMPA Office Bearers have visited some units already to understand the ground reality. It has already initiated action on the following fronts:
spoke to major machine manufacturers and their agents to ensure speedy service intervention at damaged units; so that the Printers can get their machines up and running at the minimum possible time.- started giving printers information about the SOP’s to be taken care of whilst preparing insurance claims.
- spoke to the IPAMA President so that their members are updated. Many IPAMA members have lot of machines running at the Printing units and they have been requested for timely support in the above exercise.
- KMPA convened an Extraordinary Executive committee meeting and has decided to form a special Team which will visit individual printing units and assess the damage systematically. This team will be headed by the KMPA President and will prepare a detailed report of the damages suffered by the printers of Kerala. Initial assessment has put the accumulated loss of Kerala printers at over Rs. 50 crores.
- KMPA has requested the support of AIFMP in the above 4 areas in whatever manner possible. One major way could be by intimating the affiliate associations/other trade bodies to contribute their best.
As the flood waters have slowly started to recede, the magnitude of the disaster is unfolding the worse. There are sights of Printing units completely/partially submerged with owners and employees left homeless. For most of such brother printers, their life’s work and earnings have been destroyed in a few moments of Nature’s fury. A very big number of them are in relief camps without access to even basic necessities. Without our generous support, most of our fellow printers will not be able to come back to life at all.
We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation and support in this hour of crisis. To know more about how you can contribute, you may write to KMPA at: kmpacochin@gmail.com.
