Highlights
- Delhi municipal corporation decides to renovate the oldest library of Chandni Chowk
- The Hardayal Municipal Public Library was set up for renovation in March 2021
- There are over 1.7 lakh books in the library with 8000 rare manuscripts.
The first week of March has been set as the deadline for completing the entire restoration work at the oldest library of Delhi metropolitan city. The oldest library in the area is the Hardayal Municipal Public Library. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to take up the steps to restore the old enigma of this famous library at Chandni Chowk.
State Of The Project At Chandni Chowk
The project that would initiate the revamping of the oldest library was announced early in September 2019. However, the project started late, and the denervation finally began in June 2020. The Restoration process began late because most of the books are very old and not easy to remove. Some rooms were marked in the town hall for storage of books, but the repair could not be initiated until the library was empty.
Rekha Sinha is the local councilor and also a member secretary of the library. She said that some books were required to be within the library campus. It delayed the entire process of revamping the Delhi library.
History Of Hardayal Municipal Public Library
The Hardayal Municipal Public Library, Chandni Chowk, was set up in 1862. It is the oldest library in Delhi and has a collection of over 1.7 lacs books. Eight Thousand of these books are extremely their manuscripts which must be digitized for further reading. One of the officials has mentioned that the authorities are taking complete precautions during the work of repair.
Extreme measures are taken so that the original and heritage-based outlook is not affected. The interior structure of the building will be altered to attract more people. However, the exterior architecture will remain the same. A team has been assigned from Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts to assist with the preservation and digitization of rare books at this library.
Why Is It Being Renovated?
Visiting the library to read books is a rare custom in the present time. Almost no member of Generation Z enjoys reading books in libraries. To increase the appeal of the younger generation towards libraries and help the older ones to maintain that passion for books, the Hardayal Municipal Public Library is being renovated.
Conclusion
According to recent sources, 65% of the entire renovation is complete. The country has been afflicted with the coronavirus while the renovation procedure was going on and it further delayed the whole process. It is expected once the storm blows over, the revamping will continue. It will indeed be the loss of the city if the inhabitants are unable to use such a vast and rich library in Chandni Chowk.