Delay in construction of building irks Thandurai Library members

₹19.8 lakh allotted for constructing a new premises

The site where the new building has to be constructed.

Members of the Thandurai Public library in Tiruvallur district are unhappy over the undue delay in the construction of a new building.

Started in 1968, the library with more than 30,000 members is one of the oldest public libraries in the district.

The library, which was functioning in an old building near the Thandurai Government Higher Secondary School, was closed and shifted to a rented premises a few years ago.

‘Only on paper’

The library premises were later demolished to make way for a new building but the plan remained only on paper. The Tiruvallur District Library Department had allotted ₹19.80 lakh for the construction and a ‘bhoomi puja’ was perfomed on August 25, 2017. But thee construction work was stopped all of a sudden.

T. Sadagopan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre, said a group of local residents who aimed to grab the property had ensured that the construction work was stopped.

The Tiruvallur District Library Department, in a letter to the consumer centre, admitted that a group of residents in the locality was the cause for the delay in the construction work.

At present the public library is housed in a small shop at Vallalar Nagar Main Road, near the Pattabhiram Railway station, and suffers from space constraints. Hundreds of readers who visit the library find it inconvenient as there is little space to sit and read, Mr. Sadagopan said.

When the issue was brought to the notice of Tiruvallur Collector E. Sundaravalli, she asked the Revenue Divisional Officer to inspect the library premises and submit a report.

“Once the RDO inspects the spot, an amicable solution will be found and the library building will be constructed very soon,” she told The Hindu .