Sir,

This refers to the news item ‘Libraries in all 65 Wards of the City soon: Mayor” (Star of Mysore dated Feb.14). Mysureans will be grateful if this assurance is implemented in letter and spirit.

Here is a classic example of how the worshipful Mayor can rectify, to start with, the apathy shown in maintaining even the existing 30-year-old ‘Reading Room’ situated at the end of Pulikeshi Road, very near to the Gumchi-Batheri Pillars on Ashoka Road junction.

This ‘Reading Room’ was inaugurated on 2.9.1985 by the then Mayor Satyanarayana in the presence of Deputy Mayor K.Gopalaswamy, luminaries and dignitaries of Mysuru city. But, it has been locked up and is at present accompanied by a huge secondary garbage bin and is an open air toilet for people (and strays to roll around).

It is located near an urban slum area Lashkar Mohalla and it could have certainly inculcated a habit of reading (improving literacy), had it been maintained properly by providing daily newspapers of different languages for catering to the different class (vernacular) readers and some comic books etc., for attracting children.

Will this Reading Room be included in the Mayor’s plan of action for improving the library system in all the 65 Wards of Mysuru? Only time can tell.

The Mayor has rightly pointed out that out of 65 Wards only 28 Wards have libraries and she would do well to take stock of the existing buildings, repair them, convert them with good ambiance with proper lighting and ventilation and supply of newspapers, magazines, books with need-based infrastructure including drinking water, toilet facilities etc., so that people will make use of them.

– Vasanthkumar, Mysoremath, Social Activist, Tilaknagar, 16.2.2020

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to [email protected]