Bhopal, Feb 29:
The British Council Library of Bhopal which for the past 42 years had been satiating knowledge desire of the intellectuals and students of the city, has finally gone into the `history' with the closure of its Bhopal centre here on Friday. A sense of belongingness, the people of the city had developed with this library, was quiet visible on their faces when the door of this important landmark of the city was finally shut for ever.
`I am upset and sad with the closure of the British library. It was not merely providing a reservoir of information on almost every topic I looked for, this place had an aura of its own. The serenity, tranquillity and the self-imposed discipline of the place had made it an abode of knowledge seeking people, said Vijeta, who recently completed her B. Com. (final year) from Nutan College here.
With her voice chocked with grief, Vijeta, who has been one of the most sincere members of this prestigious library for the past three and a half years, said that ever since she came to know about closure decision of this library, she had been fighting a relentless battle to ensure the existence of this library remained entact.
`I met Chief Minister Shivraj Singh as well as the state Governor, Dr Balram Jhakhar and submitted them memoranda for doing the needful to protect the glorious history of the British Council Library in the city but till today no initiative was taken by the government to stop its closure and run it with the help of state government's infrastructure, she said weeping consolably, while talking to this corespondent.
This library not only served as a knowledge bank for me but also a place to derive optimism and my lost confidence. Whenever, I suffered from any kind of personal and emotional stress, I used to come straight to this library and read books, journals so as to motivate myself, she said adding that it was in this library that she got some of her best friends.
Vijeta is not alone who looked morose with the closure of BCL. Poonam Manuja, a final year student of Makhanlal Chaturvedi Patrakarita Vishwavidyala, said the library was like a second home for all the members. The day when a decision was taken to shut down this library, we felt as if our own house was being auctioned, she said adding that library's closure is a colossal loss and it cannot be fulfilled.
Ronnie Rebeeca, another active member of the library, subscribing to the views of other members, said the state government should have taken necessary steps to stop it's closure. The new generation of students will be devoid of the benefits being provided by this library with its closure, she added.
Gitanjali Nagu, manager, BCL, Bhopal, denied that there was any economical reason for the closure of this library. It library, is a part of the BCL management's move to reduce its physical premises and concentrate more on the project works. Apart from Bhopal, Trivendrum is another centre from where the BCL stopped its operation on Friday. With the closure of two centres of British library, the total number of British libraries in India has reduced to nine.
The BCL management had announced its decision to wind up its Bhopal and Trivendrum centres on December 5 last year and an information to this effect had already been given to the state government, Mrs Nagu said adding that so far the BCL management had not come across any kind of communication with regard to acquire property of the library and run it at their own cost.
Krishna K Jha
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