M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec. 5: The 11th battalion of CRPF has set up a library at Mandal where Mandal dam or North Koyal water reservoir is hanging fire for more than 40 years.
Commandant of the 11th battalion of CRPF, Ved Prakash Tripathy, said: “We have set up a library at Mandal in the larger interest of the students of the area who are good at studies but lack access to resources. It is our small initiative but with a big and pious aim.”
The ease of the Naxal scenario in the state has made CRPF foray into the academic arena for the benefit of the students here.
“We have begun with just 60 to 65 books right now. Vernacular dailies that reach for the company here will be again placed in the library for the visitors,” added the commandant.
“We have begun with books that will help students of high school as their academic curriculum needs to be further broadened. To instill a sense of competition among the visitors, just one competition magazine, Partiyogyta Darpan has been made available here,” Tripathy said.
The CRPF commandant had a word of praise for the DC Latehar Abu Imran who, he said, is pro-active and has helped CRPF in many ways to have this library start functioning.
However, sources informed that there were a modest number of visitors to this library on the day it was launched but on the next day, the number of visitors dwindled.
