Creaky public library victim of land issue

Tribune News Service

Uttarkashi, July 2

The public library in Uttarkashi containing around 45,000 inspirational books is in a dilapidated condition. It is also running without a librarian. It is not getting funds for necessary repairs as the Municipal Council land on which it was built has not been transferred to the Education Department.

The once imposing building on the Municipal Council land was constructed in 1960 to cater to the needs of avid readers of the district. But it is now finding it difficult to function properly. The library consists of three rooms, a reading room, a toilet and a mini-hall in which around 45,000 books are stored in an unorganised manner.

The roofs of most of the rooms are leaking and deep cracks are visible on the sidewalls of the building. The condition of the reading room is also not good with water seeping in from all sides, damaging books kept outside the almirahs due to a space crunch.

Politicians and social activists from the district were regular visitors to the library. Eminent communist leaders, namely late Kamla Ram Nautiyal (who remained the Uttarkashi Municipal Council president twice) and late Chandan Singh Rana (former block pramukh of Uttarkashi), were among the regular visitors to the library where a refundable fee of Rs 200 is being charged from members at present.

The library that has a sanctioned strength of three employees has been without a librarian for the past several years. The efforts to renovate the library building have also not been successful. The government has not approved a proposal of Rs 1 crore for building repair as the library land has not been transferred to the Education Department from the Municipal Council.

Education Department officials say till the land is not transferred to the department, it cannot release funds. Senior district administration officials say they are authorised to provide funds only to those buildings that were damaged in natural disasters. The land transfer issue is a matter between the Municipal Council and the Education Department and the district administration can intervene only when both of them come together to resolve it.

Quotes

Pushkar Rawat, a member of the library been regular member of the Library since 2003, says

“The library is a storehouse of knowledge open to all to take advantage of it. However, its dilapidated building poses a great risk to the lives of members, especially during the monsoon.”

Quote

Akhilanand Bhatt, acting in charge of the library, says, "The library building needs repair. We had twice sent a proposal of Rs 1 crore for the repair of the building to the Education Department but funds were not be released as the property has not been transferred to the department from the Municipal Council”.

QUOTE

Jayendri Rana, president Municipal Council Uttarkashi says, “Former Uttarkashi District Magistrate Sri Sridhar Babu Adanki had assigned the Municipal Council the task of reconstructing the library building and had also permitted it to construct rooms on the first floor. However, the Municipal Council has not been able to start the work in the absence of funds.”