A man in Mysuru whose street-side library was burned down five months ago under mysterious circumstances has received thousands of books from around the world to start his venture, but he has yet to secure a building or site for the library, despite promises from officials. ‘I have received books from as far as 12,000 km away, but civic agencies have not been able to build a library within eight kilometers of my home,’ says Syed Isaaq, whose collection of books was burnt down on April 8 this year.
In the past year, he has received 8,000 books from places as far and wide as the USA, Canada, England, Dubai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and more, and now hopes to open the new library soon and see people from all walks of life use it. Isaaq, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, ran his library for nearly a decade before it was burned down by miscreants. An inexperienced man – denied of education himself – managed to collect 11,000 books and place them at a site owned by Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Isaaq often arrives at the spot each morning around 7 am carrying 22 newspapers of different languages, as well as some books, even though the spot is now filled with garbage. The local autorickshaw drivers are among those who visit the makeshift reading area, using cement blocks as chairs. Around 7 p.m., Iraq’s day comes to an end. He adds that his 15×20 feet house has no space for books, noting that officials promised to lay the foundation stone for the library on August 12th, National Library Day. However, no one contacted him.
His acquaintances have been given the donations so far for safekeeping. At first, he kept 750 books at his house, but when the floods started, he had to move them. Muzaffar Assadi, chairman of the political science department at the University of Mysore, has also collected books via crowdfunding for Isaaq. Approximately 5,000 books fill his chamber, he says. ‘People are sending books even now’. The professor says a group of technologists from Infosys, Mysuru raised Rs 35 lakh for Isaaq’s building, which they donated to the city. As a result, the plan was dropped and the money was returned to the donors. Muzammil Madani, who works at Infosys, says if the government hadn’t promised to construct the building, they would have begun the work themselves.
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According to Manjunath B, the Deputy Director at the Department of Public Libraries, the original plan was for MUDA, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and the Libraries Department to share the cost equally. However, later, the MCC commissioner and deputy commissioner were transferred. MUDA has announced that it will not extend financial aid because they have returned the land. ‘We depend on MCC for funding. The construction of the building is estimated at Rs 30-35 lakh’. Manjunath says that the Library Department will take care of the equipment needed. Meanwhile, MCC Commissioner Lakshmikanth Reddy said he had no information on the matter.
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