Silvi Park library a hit among students
Pavneet Singh Chadha
Tribune News Service
Mohali, October 9
The municipal library of Silvi Park, Phase X, Mohali, provides an ideal space for people to read and enjoy leisure time.
The library, frequented mostly by college students and senior citizens, has two reading rooms on each floor, and is open from 9 am to 5pm. The two-storey structure, which was built by the Municipal Corporation (MC) reportedly at a cost of Rs 10 lakh in 2004, remains closed on Tuesday and gazetted holidays.
Nikhil, who is doing a chartered accountancy (CA) course, said the library was well maintained and ideal for preparation of his coming examinations.
The staff at the library includes one supervisor, two security guards (day and night duty) and a Class IV attendant.
Prem Chand, the supervisor at the library, said the library had a daily footfall of over 60-70 persons. “The subscription includes 22 newspapers, 20 magazines and a collection of over 3,500 books,” he said.
He said he had put in a request to the MC to procure more chairs and tables for public, but no one had paid heed to his requests.
Sunil Kumar Sharma, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Municipal Corporation, said the library’s maintenance was undertaken by the MC regularly, adding that recently some renovation work was completed. Sharma said no proposal was in the pipeline to introduce vocational courses at the library. Students said the authorities should enable internet access at the library.
Amandeep, who is pursuing his postgraduate studies, said the library had books on varied subjects such as literature, religion, history and academics. “It should have a section for fiction books like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones,” she said.
Jaskiran said the authorities should follow the model of public libraries in other countries where people could issue books and had internet access.
Ajit Singh, a resident of Phase XI said the library had a good collection of newspapers in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. “It is heartening to see so many students reading books here, instead of fiddling with their smart phones,” he said.
