Century-old MC’s British-era printing press draws tourists

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News service

Amritsar, May 29

Around a century-old manual printing machines are still functional at the Municipal Corporation press at Ram Bagh. The then British government in India had established the printing press at Ram Bagh ‘deodhi’ (entrance) before 1920. There are two old machines, which were imported from England. Its historical connection most of the times draws tourists, mostly foreigners, who are eager to enquire about it and also get their photos clicked with the machinery.

Baldev Singh, in-charge of the printing press, says that in the last 45 years, the machines developed minor issues which were addressed by the press staff.

The first Punjabi printing press (using Gurmukhi font) was established through a Christian mission in Ludhiana in 1835. Eminent Punjabi writer Bhai Vir Singh established Wazir Hind Press in the city in 1899. The MC press used to publish books, tracts and awareness material.

With the emergence of modern printing technology, the manual system got outdated but the MC still publish its bill books, slips and playbills using it.

“Earlier, the industrial training institutes (ITIs) used to offer a special course on printing and composing. Now, there is no such course as offset printing has replaced the old technology. The manual press is quite cheap,” Baldev said.

Recently, the MC renovated the building of ‘deodhi’ under the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and installed boards. Tourists often visit and see the manual functioning of composing and press.

Employees of the press are getting retired and there is no new recruitment. In the absence of required staff, the press will become non-functional after a few years.