STAFF REPORTER, THE HINDU-At Rs. 20 lakh, the
Coimbatore Corporation has built a building on Alagannan Vth Street, Saibaba
Colony, that is supposed to be used as a library. It has been over a new year
now after completion and the building is as new as it was after construction as
no library has been established. The residents have been waiting for a
library for long, says Ward 11 Councillor M. Ravindiraraj. He raised the
issue with the Corporation authorities and also the District Library Authority.
The latter said that it would be able to run a library provided the Corporation
handed over the building.
The Corporation, on its part, first fixed a monthly rent of
Rs. 12,500. The Finance and Taxation Committee reduced it to Rs. 3,000 and the
Council to Rs. 1,000 following appeals from elected representatives and the
public that the civic body should not look at commercial interests in fixing
rent for libraries.
Meanwhile, the premise is short of maintenance. Fallen twigs
and leaves are everywhere. The pews that have been placed are full of dirt and
dust. In the evenings, the place turns a haven for anti-social elements,
the Councillor rues. He says that now the District Library Authority wants
the Corporation to waive the monthly rent, which, the civic body says, is not
possible. And the logjam continues. Rent is the only issue that threatens
the establishment of the library. For issues such as furniture, patrons,
etc. all arrangements have been made.
Efforts to reach the District Library Authority
failed. The Coimbatore Corporation under Mayor S.M. Velusamy recently
announced that the Corporation would establish a library in each of the 100
wards. It was also one of the announcements made on the eve of Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa's birthday.
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