State gets Rs 19.60 cr to replace damaged textbooks

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, July 27

The Central Government today sanctioned Rs 19.61 crore to the state for the replacement of text books lost in the last year’s September floods. Nearly 20 lakh books in libraries across the Kashmir valley were damaged in the deluge.

The state government officials said the amount has been provided under the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund. “The Government of India has provided funds to the tune of Rs 19.61 crore under the PM’s National Relief Fund to the state for replacement of text books damaged during the September 2014 floods,” an official said.

Private schools had claimed that they lost 4.50 crore books in the floods.

Apart from books, the state had also lost the rare manuscripts dating back to the sixth century at the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.

“Ninety manuscripts had suffered damage at the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. We also lost all the publications dating back to 1958,” an official said.

As most of the leading Valley colleges are based in the summer capital, which was worst hit by the floods, books kept in the libraries of these institutions had suffered irreparable loss. “The Central Library at the Government College of Women in Srinagar had 84,000 books. The first five books were donated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951. The books suffered heavy damage,” said another official.

In city’s SP College 60,000 books were damaged. The Government Medical College library and libraries of leading missionary schools, Tyndale Biscoe, Burn Hall and the Presentation Covent, had also suffered heavy losses.

Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani said demand for replacement of books was put forth by the state during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to flood-affected regions of J&K in October 2014.