Year on, Jammu Writers’ Club nowhere near completion

Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 25

The much-cherished dream of artistes of the Jammu region to get the first Writers’ Club on the premises of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages seems unlikely to be fulfilled soon.

The Writers’ Club, which was to come into existence on May 16, 2019, has already jumped its deadline. Besides, the cost of expenditure to make the club has gone over budget while so far, only a skeletal structure has been raised.

Additional secretary Arvinder Amn said work on the club was in progress but expressed helplessness to produce the ground facts about is delay. A cultural academy employee, wishing anonymity, said since the academy had been without a permanent secretary, all works had been affected and no progress was being made on any front.

Presently, Director, Archives, Munir-ul-Islam is the interim secretary of the academy, who had earlier told The Tribune that his period was going to be short-lived here.

“So far as I have understood the working of the institution, there are many problems that need to be resolved. A visionary person with strong administrative qualities needs to take over as the secretary,” Islam had said.

The then Governor NN Vohra had laid the foundation stone of the Jammu Writers’ Club on July 26, 2018, with a vision to construct a multipurpose hall with a seating capacity of 126, green rooms for men and women, art studio, library, painting display hall, reading room, coffee lounge, writers’ residence rooms and a projection room.

To be constructed over a period of one year at a cost of Rs 3.91 crore, the club will have a total built up area of about 12,000 sq ft.