Even as the authorities set in motion the process of constructing a full-fledged library in Rajiv Nagar in Mysuru, Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, handed over copies of Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Bible and Quran to Syed Ishaq.
Mr. Somashekar also gave ₹25,000 to Mr. Ishaq, who had collected an estimated 11,000 books, mostly in Kannada, for the library he had set up in Rajiv Nagar before it was burnt in a fire last Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ishaq said constructing a library was equivalent to building 100 places of worship.Building a library will help shape several educated people, he said. “One may be cheated by people, but never by books”, he remarked.
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A host of BJP leaders including Pratap Simha, MP; L. Nagendra, MLA; and Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Chairman H.V. Rajeev and others were present.
Meanwhile, MUDA Commissioner D.B. Natesh, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Shilpa Nag and Deputy Director of City Central Library Manjunath B. issued have issued a joint statement to take forward the decision on constructing a full-fledged building at the same spot in Rajiv Nagar, where the library set up by Mr. Ishaq was burnt down.
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The authorities are planning to start work on constructing the library on the World Book Day on April 23.
The land on which the burnt library was situated belonged to MUDA and the MUDA Commissioner has promised to take steps to transfer the land for the construction of the library in 2-3 days’ time, the joint statement said.
As soon as the issue relating to land is cleared, the Deputy Director of City Central Library will have officials from Nirmithi Kendra conduct a spot inspection and prepare an estimate and plan in a week’s time. The officials are working towards laying the foundation stone for the library building on April 23, and complete the construction in four to six months, Mr. Manjunath said.
Construction will be carried out from the funds donated by individuals and organisations. In 2-3 days’ time, the Deputy Director of City Central Library will open an exclusive bank account for collecting funds and make the details public. In future, the donors have to make contributions directly to the bank account.
In case the donations fall short for construction of the library, the MCC will bear the shortfall. A hall in the proposed library will be named after Syed Ishaq, where he can keep the books he has collected and look after them, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Syed Ishaq will be a special invitee to a meeting of the City Central Library Authority scheduled to be held on MCC premises on April 16 to endorse the decisions taken by the officials on the construction of the library.