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The Biswanath Pandit Central Library, which comes under the jurisdiction of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), was demolished last year for the proposed bus terminal at Khannaggar. After the demolition, it was assured that the new building of the library would be constructed soon. The CMC even identified a patch of government land near the Puri bus stand at Badambadi for the same. However, the announcement has so far only remained in pen and paper.
Now students ask as to when will they get their library back?
The library is currently is running in the Orissa High Court's Record Room Digitization Centre near the Judicial Academy in the city. Putting aside the infrastructure and other issues, students continue to visit the place with the hope that their library will soon get its new look.
"I think the earlier place of the library was better for us as it was near Badambadi. Students from far off places were also coming to the library to study. Due to the shift, we are now facing a lot of problems," said a student, Manoj Kumar Barik.
Banishree Parida alleged that the library remains closed most of the time. "The library should be opened till 8 PM. Besides, the authorities should minimise the number of holidays."
When the library was at Khannaggar, more than 300 students were regularly visiting the place but it has now reduced to 60-70. From broken chair and tables to insufficient books, students have to face a slew of issues.
"The current library lacks sufficient number of magazines. Besides, arrangement of books also couldn't be done here due to which the library had failed to function properly," rued another student, Sagar Kumar Swain.
Responding to the students' allegations, CMC Commissioner Ananya Das said that a proposal with a detailed blueprint for the library has been sent to the Odisha government for approval and expect to get clarification in this regard from the concerned department soon.
