On 20th December 2010, I have been to Raipur to attend a massive meeting of BSNL Employees being held to discuss about the membership verification. I had arrived at Raipur from Bhubaneswar  and before starting of the meeting our comrades took  me to the Coffee House to have breakfast. The coffee-house was accommodated in the newly built Government Rest House complex and was well maintained. I asked our comrades Atma Pujya, Circle Secretary and Dawle, a senior leader of BSNLEU  who were with me, whether they know about the origin of the present Coffee Houses throughout the country. They did not know. I told them the inspiring story.

Coffee houses were being run by the Coffee Board under the Government of India. It was intended to provide good coffee at cheap rates. But when losses occurred, Coffee Board decided to wind up the coffee houses. The result will be that  a lot of workers will become jobless. The workers went to Com. A.K.Gopalan, the veteran Militant trade union leader, who at that time was a Member of the Parliament. Comrade AKG immediately took up the matter with the Government and proposed that the coffee houses be handed over to the workers who will run them on co-operative basis.  Com. AKG’s persuasion prevailed and the government accepted the proposal. That is how the present Coffee Houses started. They are run by Co-operative societies where all the workers are shareholders. It is being run in almost every city in a very good way. And the prices are comparatively cheap. You get not only coffee but idli, dosa, roti etc.etc. as also meals in some places.

In most of the coffee houses you can see the photo of Com. AKG, who ensured job and  life to thousands of workers.

It is on the death anniversary of this legendary working class leader  ie. 22nd March, that BSNL Employees Union was formed in 2001 at Visakhapatnam.