Post News Network
Cuttack, April 16: The Biswanath Pandit Central Library, one of the oldest public libraries in the city, is battling a severe lack of infrastructure amid growing complaints from its large base of readers.
Situated in Khan Nagar, the library has over 58,000 books lining its shelves, and over 3,000 members. The library is an institution of sorts for hundreds of students preparing for competitive examinations. Over 450 students regularly access the library to read newspapers, magazines and journals.
However, the library is beginning to show signs of ageing. Readers say they are willing to overlook the filthy toilets, the lack of drinking water supply and the cramped parking lots, only if the stock of books was updated and increased at regular intervals. Unavailability of books, they say, is their biggest complaint.
“We have been demanding new refresher guides and books for competitive examinations but only a handful of books were provided for more than 400 students,” said Biswa Bhushan Behera, a resident of Khan Nagar who is preparing for the examinations to the Railway Recruitment Board.
Another regular at the library, Manikanta Sahoo, a resident of College Square, said the infrastructure at the library was pathetic and was in urgent need of a revamp.
“Whenever there are power cuts, and they happen often, there are no backup measures like an inverter or a generator. It gets extremely hot at such times. Also, none of the six toilets are unusable,” said Manasi Das, a commerce graduate who is preparing for the Indian Civil Services examination.
Library officials, meanwhile, sought to explain that the library was handling more visitors on a daily basis than it was supposed to. “The library has a capacity to accommodate only 350 persons on a day, but over 450 people visit on a daily basis. It is difficult to accommodate such a large number of students,” said librarian BK Sahoo. He added that he was aware of the issues affecting the library. “CMC has decided to spend `1 crore to renovate the library. The tender has been floated for the library and we will take immediate steps to improve the condition of the library,” said a senior official of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation.
