NALBARI, June 26: With the Assam government declaring 2025 as the ‘Year of Books’, a quiet reading revolution is taking place in Lower Assam’s Nalbari district, where demand for public libraries, reading rooms, and access to quality books has surged.
Referred to as ‘Pragya Nagari’ (Wisdom Town), Nalbari’s denizens have urged the district administration to provide them with more reading spaces and materials, and efforts have been made since last year to ensure adequate facilities for children, youth and adults for reading, a district official said.
The district administration under the guidance of the previous District Commissioner Varnali Deka, initiated a transformative mission to ignite a ‘Pragya Andolan’ (reading revolution) throughout the district to create an intellectually enriched and informed society, the official said.
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Deka pointed out that it is universally accepted that books and reading play a pivotal role in shaping young minds and strengthening communities.
“The district administration, therefore, decided to bridge the educational gap by ensuring access to quality reading materials both in urban and rural areas,” she said.
“During an interactive session with the public last year, we were pleasantly surprised that most of the people present on the occasion demanded more libraries or reading rooms and books,” Deka said.
‘Pragya Andolan’ took shape in the district due to this, she said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier announced that the Assam government will observe 2025 as the year of books and literature to revive the cultural and intellectual fabric of the state.
Since 2024, the state government has sanctioned the construction of 2,597 libraries in the state, covering over 2,000 gram panchayats and 400 municipal wards.
The first reading room was set up at the Chandi Medhi Balika Vidyalaya in Mukalmua in December last year and since then several libraries and reading rooms have come up in various schools and colleges in both rural and urban areas.
The ‘Nagakhya Library’ was also set up at the historic temple ‘Billeswar Devalaya’ and another at Darangipara Namghar with the aim to merge educational advancement with the preservation of cultural heritage, she said.
The temple’s ‘Doloi’ (priest), Ranjit Kumar Misra, said the library has already become a point of interest among devotees.
‘I firmly believe that in the coming years, this library will play a vital role in preserving and promoting our religious and cultural heritage,’ he said.
“Having a proper library and reading space in the school is a joy,” a class 9 student of Belsor Higher Secondary School, Violina Barman, said, adding she is very fond of reading storybooks and learning new things.
Another student, Prastuti Deka, of the Chandi Medhi Balika Vidyalaya, said the library has become a gateway for them to explore the vast world of and deepened their interest in reading.
The campaign has been growing as more and more schools and institutions are coming forward to seek such reading spaces.
“This transformative initiative not only emphasises the establishment of new libraries in educational institutions and community spaces but also aspires to cultivate a lifelong love for reading among children and adults,’ Deka said.
The initiative, promoting inclusive and accessible learning environments, is fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking across all age groups, she said. (PTI)
