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Silchar, Aug 14: In what could be called a first of its kind initiative, a street library with free books for book lovers was opened at the 1017 Dakshin Mohanpur LP School under Sonai block in Cachar district on the occasion of National Librarian's Day which commemorates the birth anniversary of Father of Library Science Padma Shri Dr S R Ranganathan.
A concept augmented by S M Firoj Laskar, the Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC), the street library was inaugurated by Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli. Sharing her feeling on this move,Jalli richly appreciated the efforts of Laskar and his wife for the larger social cause.
"It is very rare for Government officials to spend money out of their own pocket to do some selfless public good. The fact that he wants to give back to his school and spend money on it and go out of his way to do innovative things is really wonderful. He had contacted me first in April saying he has taken inspiration from my Hailakandi JalSuraksha Prakalpa initiative and has built a water conservation unit around the handpump.
Later he himself has taken up the idea of a street library and has developed it so beautifully. Such acts truly need to be recognised and encouraged," the Deputy Commissioner said. The little street library, shaped like a bird's nest has already been a major attraction for people of the vicinity as young and old are picking up books with great quest and uploading videos of their chores around the library. The Deputy Commissioner expressed her happiness over the clean and tidy maintenance of the premises of the school which in her words adds to the academic ambience.
The school has a plastic bank, a corner for solid and liquid waste and through community development funds, the management committee of the school has also built a rain water harvesting scheme around the school hand pump. "By reading books, people learn diverse things and thereby the knowledge acquired by them also helps in nation building. Books are man's best friends and they have magical abilities" She said as she borrowed the first book on the brief history of tea in Assam with a promise to return it within a week with ten more books," the Deputy Commissioner maintained.
Further, on the occasion, interactive chairs, tables and cupboards for pre-primary students under Early Childhood Care and Education component of SSA, were also handed over to the heads of three schools. BEEO Lipika Sinha, Sonai Education Block, DPO of SSA Cachar,Smti Panchatapa Choudhury, DPO Papri Bhattacharjee, Rana Ranjan Nath, Prof.Abdul Matin Laskar, National Youth Award recipient KH, Krishna Mohan Singh,Kachudaram GP President Apu Kumar Das and APM U Mizanur Rahman attended the meeting. CRCC's of various blocks of Cachar, members of school management, committee, members of mother's group,students, parents, stakeholders. Everyone applauded the initiative of the education department also attended the occasion.
