Bhubaneswar: Employees of the Government of India Text Book Press, Mancheswar, on Monday requested the state government to take over the press after the Centre decided to shut it down on September 22 last year.

The printing press, which had been set up in 1976, has currently 34 employees, who are apprehensive about the future of the unit.

The employees said that though the Union government was yet to publish a gazette notification regarding closure of the press, it had already transferred 17 of the employees to Calcutta in December last.

"We came to know about the closure of the press through a release of the Press Information Bureau. Most of the existing employees of the press are on the verge of their retirement and the decision of transfer has jolted us," said secretary of employees' union of the textbook press Manoranjan Mohanty.

The state government had earlier provided 100 acres to the unit, and later, another portion of land was handed over to the East Coast Railway. The press had been set up initially to publish textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training. But in course of time, the work of the press was reduced to printing of forms, journals and souvenirs of various government organisations functioning under the Union government.

At present, the press is managed by the Directorate of Printing under the ministry of urban development. More than 200 employees used to work in the press during its peak years.

"The press is one among the sophisticated presses in the country and all kinds of modern equipment are there to serve its purpose. It can publish thousands of books a day, and we already have publication work for the next two years. But during such scenario, the Union government's decision will lead to the unit's death. This will be a great loss to Odisha," said Mohanty.

The employees also demanded the state government and the East Coast Railway to take over the press for greater interest of the state. "The press has been functioning for more than four decades and can be used by the state government for printing of textbooks, which will be helpful for students of the state. If it is not done, the sophisticated printing equipment will be sold at the rate of scraps," said an employee.