SILCHAR, Sept 5 - The district library and auditorium at Silchar is in a dismal condition.
Established in 1961 on the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore in 1961, this government-run public institution has turned into a derelict structure nowadays due to the lack of maintenance and proper attention by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the State.
Against this backdrop, members of the various social and cultural organisations submitted a memorandum to the Cachar Deputy Commissioner on Friday urging him to take steps to restore the glory and infuse a new life into the library and auditorium. Ajoy Roy of Sammilita Sanskritik Mancha said �We have been witnessing a complete apathy towards sensible and effective approach for over two decades which has resulted into to the dilapidated condition of the library,� Roy said.
He added that the front portion of the existing boundary adjacent to the Circuit House Road is in the risk of collapsing. Also as many as 200 chairs inside the auditorium are broken and require early replacement. Moreover, the internal water supply system for green room and toilet is out of order and cannot be used by the participants during events.
Further, highlighting the condition of the library and reading section, Roy said that there has been a significant decline in the number of readers over the years. He said that only 12 entries are recorded in daily register. The members said that internet and social media has thrown a serious challenge to library reading, hence it is of paramount importance to create a modern and sophisticated reading ambience like the district library of Guwahati.
Appointing a permanent librarian and security guards have also been raised through the memorandum. �Power supply in the library is in miserable state. A number of wall fans are defunct and a hefty debt of Rs 1,50,000 against power is lying under APDCL Silchar subdivision-I. The generator set which was installed in 2006 is out of order which needs immediate attention,� said the members.
Kishore Kumar Deb from Rupam Sanskritik Sangstha, Chitrabhanu Bhowmik from Dasarupak Cultural Organisation and Ratnadeep Deb from Beekshan Cine Commune were among the other signatories to the memorandum.
