Himanshu Guru
A few volunteers in Sambalpur have recently launched a noble initiative to distribute old books free of cost among students and job aspirants. Their mission is to spread education and help deserving, albeit needy, students…
Even in this digital age, books play an important role in education. A firm belief in the value and abiding relevance of books in society triggered a few volunteers in Sambalpur to kick-start the mission of distributing old books free of cost.
On weekdays from 7pm to 9 pm in the evening, you can visit Baidyanath Chowk in Sambalpur to avail of the books as per your requirement. The stock includes textbooks on medicine, engineering, computer science, and general knowledge as well as tomes for arts, commerce and science students. It also includes storybooks and religious treatises. The principal objective of the volunteers is to reach out to a cross-section of readers. Sunday POST speaks with the volunteers and some beneficiaries about the noble service of book distribution.
Around 200 books were distributed November 5, 2016, the day the initiative was launched. So far, 1,956 students have received books free of cost. Dwelling on the initiative, Subash Kumar Agrawal, a volunteer, said: “Before Diwali many houses and shops were selling important books at throwaway prices. This hurt me and I decided to collect the books and distribute them free of cost to deserving students.”
Subash’s friend and fellow volunteer Mohd. Sanaulla said: “We started the initiative November 3, but started keeping records from November 5. Due to lack of experience we faced a little trouble at the initial stages but soon everything fell into place. I saw during Diwali many valuable books were being sold to ‘mudhiwalas’ as garbage and decided to help launch the mission. Soon we received immense support from likeminded people who approached us to convey their wish to donate their own books. Our interest in the initiative gradually grew. People who had stored books since long also started donating. Even doctors provided us valuable technical books that cost Rs 500-600. On average, a student is taking three or four books at a time. Mainly college students and their parents come to collect textbooks. Those willing to donate books are approaching us. We are also collecting CBSE and ICSE textbooks. We operate our stall in front of a closed shop and are thankful to the owner who has provided us electricity as well as another kind-hearted individual who has given us the requisite furniture to operate the store. At night we transfer the stock to a nearby temple. What started as an enjoyable way of spending our leisure hours and has become our passion and mission.”
To the query as to whether the volunteers charge a marginal fee for the books distributed or distribute them free of cost, Sanaulla replied: “The books are distributed free of cost.” Many people have benefitted from this noble effort. Quoting a beneficiary Sanaulla said: “Days back a person from Redhakhol whose daughter is a medical student visited the spot. He called up his daughter from our store to ask her what books to choose and zeroed in on three. We insisted the student should come to collect but he said he had come all the way from Redhakhol and found a few books which were not available in the bookstores there. He added that if he left empty-handed he might never come across those particular books.”
“The mission is the brainchild of Subash Agrawal and the whole group is wholeheartedly supporting the mission,” he added.
Another volunteer Bibhuti Bhusan Das said: “I have observed people throwing even textbooks into the Mahanadi, and so decided to collect the books from them. We collect books on Sundays and distribute on weekdays. If someone intimates us volunteers that they have books to donate, we visit their residences to collect the books.”
Swati Dora, a Class IX student from Sambalpur, said: “I was looking for some important textbooks in a number of stores in the city but in vain. One day I went to Baidyanath Chowk with my father to savour a plate of chat at a food kiosk there and came to know about the initiative. To my astonishment, I got all the four books I was looking for in the store there.”
Student of Hindi High School Shibam Sharma is a civil services aspirant. “My parents can afford to buy me textbooks. But for preparation I need more books which they can’t afford. Thankfully, my problem was solved after this noble initiative was launched. I have taken four books to prepare for the civil services.”
Mohd. Gulam Quadri, a volunteer, said: “Other than textbooks we distribute books on mythology. Earlier, we saw people tossing these into the Mahanadi. Nowadays, they hand over the books to us. Not only students but elderly females also visit the store to collect religious books.”
Another volunteer Dilip Pati said: “We want to raise awareness about the pressing need to spread education. Thankfully, the mission has met with success initially. In the coming days if we are able to collect a greater quantity of books we could consider opening many more free stalls in multiple areas of the city.”
“If people of other districts take up such initiatives, many students and learners will benefit,” said another volunteer Amarendra Raiguru while dwelling on the future of the initiative.
Mohammed Issac, Braja Mohanty, Papu Kedia and Gokul Meher are others wholeheartedly involved in this noble effort.
Photos and additional inputs:
Shankar Behera, Sambalpur
