Book lovers’ wait for libraries gets longer

The wait of city’s book lovers for new libraries seems to be getting longer as not one of the planned libraries has seen the light of the day so far.

Last year, the state government had allocated Rs 64 lakh to each selected constituency. Notably, each of these constituencies was supposed to get six libraries.

The plan includes establishing libraries in different constituencies of Ludhiana district — including Gill, Jagraon, Khanna, Atam Nagar, Ludhiana Central, Ludhiana East, Ludhiana North, Ludhiana South, Ludhiana West, Payal, Raikot, Sahnewal and Samrala.

However, to book lover’s dismay, not even a single library has been set up so far in the past year.

Mobile library goes into oblivion

• The Indira Gandhi Mobile Library (IGML) used to take books to the readers’ doorstep in Ludhiana.
• The initiative was abandoned around 2007 after it became non-functional.
• The bus housing the mobile library developed some technical snag and was never repaired.

According to an official of the Municipal Corporation, the authorities have made multiple attempts at issuing tenders, but tenders could not be due to various reasons. The official says the tender for setting up libraries would again be opened in a day or two.

The directive for setting up libraries had come directly from the Chief Minister’s office to all deputy commissioners. The Municipal Corporation was made responsible for city areas while the block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) was given the responsibility for the rest of the areas.

A model library, constructed at a cost of Rs 35 lakh in Sangrur, was considered as reference for the upcoming libraries. The state government had instructed the authorities to adopt library construction plans as per the available space and specific requirements of each constituency.

In Sangrur’s model library, around Rs 10 lakh was spent on essentials like books, furniture, air conditioning, inverters, CCTV systems, solar plants, water dispensers, curtain blinds, branding and ACP sheets. The upcoming libraries might follow a similar model, offering a broad range of amenities and a thoughtfully curated selection of books, the officials concerned were told.

Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi said, “The MC has initiated the tendering process for these libraries. The tender will be opened in the coming days and are expected to be allotted, after which the construction work will begin.”

Presently, there are only three public libraries being run by the Municipal Corporation. All three libraries — located at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan, Rose Garden and at Children’s traffic training park — are in a deplorable condition.

As the number of readers have reduced considerably in the recent years, the MC libraries have turned into mere stores for keeping books. Only a few people visit these libraries as the books lying there have not been updated for years.