The complainants - 20 in all - have demanded an immediate improvement in the quality of stamps by its manufacturer, the India Security Press (ISP) at Nashik. ``I was shocked at the poor quality of Re 1 stamps from the Bazar Gate post office, Mumbai, due to poor gumming. The printing gives the impression that the stamps have been printed on a rough newsprint paper,'' said Hemant Lalit, one of the complainants.

The MGP has been receiving several complaints of this nature over the past few months, said members. ``The poor gumming of stamps is not as small a problem as it may seem to be. The stamps come off easily and addressees could get penalised for no fault of theirs. It's also a waste of money as it wouldtake Rs 6 instead of the normal Rs 3 for a letter to reach somewhere. The ISP is distributing defective stamps at the cost of consumers,'' charged Kumar Pradhan of the MGP. ``Stamps are moistened by the tongue the world over. Applying glue defeats the purpose of getting contractors to gum stamps ,'' he added.

The ISP, a government body, contracts out the supercalendaring on Ashoka Pillar watermarked stamp base paper on a yearly basis. The terms and conditions attached to its tender notice read: The quality of gum should be such as to give high tack and adhesive strength. And `the paper should be flat after gumming and should not have the tendency to curl.'

Conditions which, pointed out Pradhan, are hardly adhered to. ``Stamps do not stick well and even curl after additional glue is applied. There would have been no problems if ISP would have stuck to its own specifications,'' said Pradhan.

The ISP's general manager, V K Jain, denied that the stamps are poorly gummed. ``There might be a problem with somestamps, but it is largely a rumour that the firm Gandhi Industrial Corporation, which had the contract for the last 20 years, is spreading because it has lost the tender this time. The latest tender has been awarded about two months back,'' he said in a telephonic conversation from Nashik. Although Jain would not name the new contractor, he said the new stamps will be in the market soon.

There is a quality control unit at work in the ISP, added Jain, but ``Sometimes, it does happen that stamps are not up to the mark''. Countering accusations of a lack of check on gum samples before awarding tenders, Jain told Express Newsline, ``Gandhi Industrial Corporation was a contractor for about 20 years. Sometimes, one doesn't check samples.''

The ISP standards of grammage per square metre of stamp base paper are eight gms/sq mt. ``Lalit got the stamps that are available tested at the laboratory of the Mumbai's Indian Institute of Packaging. In its report, the laboratory said the stamps had just 0.8 gms of gum persq mt, which is just 1/10th of the standard set by the ISP itself,'' said Pradhan.

The MGP's complaint letters to both the India Security Press and to the Deputy Director General, Post and Telegraph Department, Madhu Narayan, have not evoked any response from officialdom. ``Stamps speak a lot for any nation. They shouldn't be treated so casually,'' said Pradhan.