DDA to convert its community centres into libraries

New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will convert many of its previously under-utilised community cen-tres and halls into libraries and reading rooms, a move that will benefit thousands of students, accord-ing to an official statement released on Thursday.

Five such community centres have already been identified, each in Rajendra Nagar, Adhchini, Vikaspu-ri, Dwarka Sector-16B, and Rohini. Work to convert them into modern library and reading room facili-ties with all necessary amenities is progressing rapidly, the statement said.

This initiative follows Delhi LG VK Saxena's directive to the DDA to provide library and reading room facilities to students, following the tragic incident in July where three young lives were lost due to drowning in the basement reading room of a private coaching centre in Rajendra Nagar. Saxena, who visited the site after the tragedy, met with protesting students and assured them that he would do everything possible to address the issue of exploitative reading room facilities and the high charges they face.

The LG subsequently convened a meeting with DDA officers and instructed them to identify communi-ty centres located inside or near student hubs across the city that could be converted into libraries and reading rooms for student use, the statement read. Works had started in full swing at the Rajendra Nagar centre and were supposed to be completed by Friday. However, due to GRAP restrictions, it was delayed and is now expected to be completed by the end of this month, it stated.

This centre will serve thousands of students from the Rajendra Nagar-Patel Nagar-Karol Bagh coaching hub, while the Adhchini centre will cater to students from the JNU, Katawaria Sarai, Ber Sarai, and IIT Delhi areas, the statement said.