Historic District Library of Silchar in pathetic state

SILCHAR: Almost 50 years after its establishment in 1961, the District Library inSilchar lies in a dilapidated condition. Rainwater enters the building through the cracked roof and broken windows of the decrepit building, which is almost flooded during monsoons. The ASEB has cut off power supply in the library due to non-payment of tariff by the Assam government. The local municipality has also cut off water supply to the toilets for the same reason.

The library does not subscribe to any periodicals including daily newspapers due to paucity of funds. Though the library has thousands of valuable books in different languages, they have not been maintained and no new books have been included in the library over the past two decades. All this has led to the library losing its loyal clientele.

"Since the District Library was established on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's birth centenary in 1961, we called on the Assam minister for cultural affairs Pranati Phukan during her recent visit to Silchar on the occasion of Tagore's 150th birth anniversary celebrations last week. We asked her to reconstruct the library with air condition facilities, internet connectivity and uninterrupted supply of power in the reading room," the Cachar district president of Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelon (BUBSSS), Taimur Raja Choudhury said.

BUBSSS called upon the minister to take measures to provide regular supply of books, magazines, journals and audio-visual materials in Bengali, English, Assamese, Hindi and other languages, and keep the library updated. The organization also demanded that a permanent librarian is appointed immediately, which is at present being headed by a clerk.

Choudhury said the people of Barak Valley are emotionally attached to the library and the auditorium adjacent to it as it was established on Tagore's birth centenary. "But, we are sorry to state that the Bengali section of the library is in a dismal state with hardly any significant inclusion for over past two decades. While the state is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore, it is disheartening to note that there is an absence of even the Kaviguru's books in the library. The old stock of Tagore's works is in a terrible condition and has not been replaced ever," he added.

"The venerable institute was at one time the haunt of bookworms. We, during out college and school days, used to visit the library's reading room regularly to go through the books and periodicals. Sometimes, we had to wait for long to get a table due to rush of readers. But today, very few people visit the library, which is situated at the heart of the city," said Milan Laskar, a cultural activist.

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