The Kozhikode Public Library and Research Centre Development Committee has brushed away the arguments of the Kozhikode District Library Council that it was not working against the development of the public library.
The development committee based its decision on the grounds that it was the council’s legal intrusions that had prevented the development of the library over the last 20 years.
CM’s decision
The committee that welcomed the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s decision to make the Public Library and Research Centre an independent institution said the library council had not been doing much to improve the reading habits of the society despite having all infrastructural facilities.
The committee alleged that the council was functioning as a puppet of a political party.
“Despite having a good piece of land on Mavoor Road, the council is not using it for public good.
There are no proper documents about what happened to the earnings from the book festivals of the council in the previous years,” president of the committee P.V. Mohanlal said in a press release.
He also demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the finances of the council.
The committee also alleged that 80 per cent of the books purchased for libraries in the district over the last 15 years belong to a single publishing company.
Though there are enough grants, the council has made no move to introduce e-libraries in the libraries in its undertaking.
The committee also claimed that the council had no claim on the building of the Public Library and Research Centre in Mananchira, which was built under the aegis of former District Collector Amitabh Kanth with some private sponsorship.
The council was trying to sabotage the development of the public library by laying claim on the building, the committee said.
