Imphal: A total of five mini “Street Libraries” were set up at Manipur’s Tamenglong district headquarters about 145 Km from Imphal.
It is the first of its kind in the state.
The innovative libraries that attract hundreds of readers were set up at different garbage dumping sites after cleansing the trash at Tamenglong town.
The cleansing was a part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign under the theme, “Free Garbage India,” Dr. L Angshim Dangshawa, the District Commissioner of the Tamenglong said.
No garbage was also found in the street library areas.
The people of the town stated about the running of the library smoothly.
“Many people have donated books for the street libraries. So far, the libraries are functional with young children coming and taking books. In some cases, they have returned the books and, in some cases, they have not returned. Some students have also put new books by themselves,” the young IAS officer said.
“Let’s wait and see for some more time, we will get to know. I named the library ‘Garbage or Knowledge?’. This is just a message asking the people whether you choose the garbage or opt for the library,” added Dangshawa who completed his MBBS course from Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal East district in 2017.
President of Rongmei Naga Students’ Organisation Manipur (RNSOM) Daichui Gangmei, while appreciating the deputy commissioner’s smart library initiative said, “We want to say a big thank you to the DC for his smart steps taken up in the district.”
Stating that the initiative has given an impetus to the habit of reading books among people, particularly students, Daichui urged all philanthropists of the district to donate more books to the street library.