Reading habit eludes Mapxekars as its public library stays shut for over 3 years

MAPUSA: In September 2019, the Mapusa Municipal Council ordered the closure of the town’s sole public library so that the dilapidated heritage building housing it could be transformed into a district library by the Art and Culture Department. But, as is the case with most of the government’s ambitious projects, little headway was made.

Three-and-a-half years have lapsed and the facility, which at one time buzzed with activity and avid readers from all walks of life, has remained shut, essentially leaving Mapusa town and its suburbs without a full-fledged public library.

What is worse is that the MMC has failed to make provisions for even a temporary reading hall in the interim.

The Athaide Municipal Library, as it was called, was established by Dr Jose Joaquim Borges F Azavedo during the Portuguese regime in Goa, on November 12, 1883. It was named after a priest, Fr. Francis Athaide, as a tribute to the stellar work he had done in educating thousands of youth in the Bardez taluka.  

Upon Goa’s liberation from the Portuguese in 1961 and the subsequent enforcement of the Municipalities Act in 1968, the library was taken over by the MMC. The civic body, incidentally, was housed in the same building until it was shifted to its current location opposite the civil and criminal court.

Up until the time it was shut down in 2019, the library sported 6,598 members and at least 25,129 books of which more than 5,000 were in Portuguese. Reading material was also available in Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, French and English.  

It was also the only library in the state to have a collection of the Official Gazettes published since 1857.

“Mapusa town lacks a decent source of entertainment or a space where one can spend time fruitfully. As such, the library was the only place people visited every day to catch up on their reading. It is sad that it has remained shut for close to four years now,” SubhashNaik, a resident, said.

The last update made to the library before its closure was the introduction of a children’s corner in 2007 that contained a repository of children’s books, educational CDs and even a computer. It received e-library status from the National Informatics Centre in February 2016.

Subsequent plans to turn the facility into a district library were welcomed by all quarters and work on the Rs 8-crore project was expected to be completed in all respects by the art and culture department in June 2020.

However, rent-related issues and the Covid-19 pandemic meant that work could not begin in right earnest.

There was yet another twist in the tale last year when the MMC revoked the decision of the former council and resolved to renovate the building through the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA).

As per plans drawn out by the GSUDA, the first floor and the library section of the building will now be repaired, re-plastered and painted. The library itself will be equipped with all modern facilities, including a digital library.

The entire structure will be re-roofed with Mangalore tiles and a false ceiling will be installed. Tiled flooring and woodwork have also been included in the project and costs have been brought down to Rs 2.5 crore. What remains to be seen is when work will be completed and the library will be thrown open again.