1 cr for renovation of library to benefit Ggn in smart city race

The district library, located on the Jharsa road in Old Gurgaon, will soon be expanded to the adjacent block. The state government has allotted a budget of Rs 1 crore for the construction work that will start in August.

The district library, located on the Jharsa road in Old Gurgaon, will soon be expanded to the adjacent block. The state government has allotted a budget of Rs 1 crore for the construction work that will start in August.

The two-storey library was constructed in 1963 and has over 50,000 books. (Lakshita Arora/ HT Photo)

In April, CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced the expansion of the library and said that it will better Gurgaon’s chances in the race of smart cities. The program emphasises on developing more public space and working on citizen engagement initiatives such as this.

The district library that has around 50,000 books was constructed in 1963. At present, it is a two-floor building with books on its ground floor and reading area on the first floor.

“The construction will start by the end of July. The new building will have a ground and first floor. This extension will help in giving more space to readers as the existing one is small,” said VK Sharma, executive engineer, Public Works Department B&R, Gurgaon district.

According to officials, the library has considerably seen a growth in footfall in the past a few months, the credit for this can be given to the Sheetla Mata Mandir Shrine Board. The board appointed people for taking care of the library. As the librarian, appointed by the Haryana government, works only for 2.5 hours, the board’s people help maintain the library.

“When we joined the library, the campus had weed growing on it. It is only after our constant efforts, it looks presentable now. The footfall has definitely increased manifold, from 17 children to around 200 using the facility at present. If the extension is conducted keeping in mind all the aspects of the library, it will be a good initiative,” said GR Sain, junior librarian appointed by the Sheetla Mata Mandir Shrine Board.