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| New building for Kashmir's oldest library lacks basic facilities | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Nov 18: After taking a year for completion of its works, the Shri Pratap Singh Library inaugurated last month still lacks the basic facilities.
The SPS Library which was established in the year 1898, hosts a collection of books in English, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Hindi and Punjabi languages.
The oldest library of Kashmir has a collection of 74 Manuscripts in Persian, Sanskrit, Arabic and Urdu. This library has a collection of more than one lakh and fifty thousand books. The government started the work a decade ago on construction of the new building. However, it still lacks many facilities despite spending crores of rupees.
"We still face a lot of problems here. There is lighting problem. There are no adequate heating facilities," an official said. The official said that lighting problem was due to ill-planning by the engineers.
The multi-story SPS library building has no separate wing for the visually impaired, making it totally inaccessible to them.
An official from the library wishing anonymity said, "The authorities should have taken this into consideration beforehand. It is really unfortunate that such a huge structure lacks facility for the visually challenged."
He said there is no braille wing for the visually impaired visitors. "This is a new building and the facility might be incorporated with time. I can't make any further comments as we have been told not to talk to media," the official said.
Nearly a decade and half later, Governor Satya Pal Malik on October 25 inaugurated new building of the Shri Pratap Singh Library situated at the M.A. Road Srinagar.
The bibliophiles in the reading room of the library also expressed their views on the non-availability of the braille wing.
Asif Ahmad, a student said, "I am surprised that such a big structure which has three libraries merged in it is devoid of the braille wing."
He said, "Nowadays, nothing much can be done without technology, and the lack of it in the libraries is a major impediment towards inclusion of disabled people in the mainstream. The authorities should create a braille wing soon so that the visually challenged can equally benefit from the books."
Another female student from Women's College M A Road said, "The governments have always deliberated on equality and inclusions. Mere talks won't help. The facility for visually impaired readers should be created soon so that they can have an access to books like us." |
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