Change in Moti Lal library timings hits readership

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 21

Adverse timing of opening and closing of Moti Lal Nehru Library at Town Hall was the prime reason of its dwindling number of subscribers and its shifting will bring down the curtain for thousands of young students residing in the walled city.

NS Gabarhia, a lifetime member of the library, said the timing of the library was fixed like an office which closed at five in the evening. Earlier, it used to remain opened till late night.

He stated that shifting of the library to Ranjit Avenue would mean that there will be no public library for over two lakh residents of the walled city.

Built in 1920s, the library was the biggest and oldest libraries in the district. Apart from being a library it served the dual purpose of being the reading room.

Former local bodies minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawla took up the matter with the government for stalling the process of shifting the Library from Town Hall to Ranjit Avenue.

In a communiqué to Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Education Minister OP Soni and Venuprasad, Secretary, Local Bodies Department, she stated that the distance between the walled city and Ranjit Avenue required rickshaw fare of Rs 100 daily. Do the authorities think that the students can afford this expense?

She felt that instead of shifting the library, it must be upgraded with e-library and more study material for competitive examinations.

Dr Charanjit Singh Gumtala of Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) felt that shifting of the library could be held back by passing the ‘Shabad Parkash Punjab Public Library and Information Services Bill’.

The ordinance, which has been hanging fire for years in the Assembly, will pave for the setting up of a state central library, 22 district libraries, 141 block-level libraries, 157 town libraries and 12,282 village libraries. Hence, this library could also be kept at its original location.