LARKANA: Sindh education department’s plan to set up model and digital libraries in 57 colleges in the province during current financial year 2020-21 has run into snags in Larkana region due to a variety of reasons, major among them is encroachment by police on a proposed site for library in Government Degree College.

Larkana region’s director of colleges Dr Karam Hussain Wadho told Dawn on Saturday that under the plan, nine digital libraries were to be established in the region, two each in Larkana, Jacobabad, Qambar and Shikarpur and one in Kandhkot.

The government had released Rs76.830 million for the project, with each library costing Rs2.380m, said a letter issued by secretary of education on Jan 4, 2021. On Jan 22, the secretary constituted a procurement committee with representation from the colleges, the directorate and the office of the deputy commissioner concerned, said sources privy to the plan.

The sources said that nomination of members on the committee by the DCs delayed work on the project. The secretary had written letters to all DCs in January but Larkana DC sent the nominations as late as April 1 appointing additional DC-I as his representative on the procurement committee, said the sources.

The procurement committee would prepare bidding documents, carry out technical and financial evaluation of the bids in line with Sindh Public Procurement Rules, 2010, and recommend award of contract to competent authority, said Mr Wadho.

Education dept’s plan to set up model and digital libraries in 57 colleges runs into snags

He admitted it was a complex and time-consuming procedure. The formalities would definitely affect timely completion of the project. Besides, the issue of encroachment on the proposed site for the library in Government Degree College was quite disturbing, he said.

Police encroach on college property

“We want to extend the existing library in the Government Degree College and set up a model and digital library close to it.” But their plan had been hindered by police, said Prof Altaf Hussain Abro, principal of the college.

He said that he had personally called on Larkana DC and senior superintendent of police and asked them to expedite the process of removing encroachment of police from the college premises.

He said that police had established Rehmatpur police station in old bungalow of the principal which the college administration needed for construction of the new library. The police station should be relocated forthwith to help the college go ahead with the plan, he said.

He admitted that completion of all formalities in this context would consume time and “since we are non-technical hands, it may also lead to lapse of funds allocated for the purpose if the issue of encroachment is not resolved on a war footing”.

The engineers concerned had also pointed out flaws in the building structure which lacked spaces for provision of air conditioners for computer labs in this hot weather area, said the sources.

Lal Bakhsh Kalhoro, president of Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA), said that police were reluctant to remove the police station. At one stage, police had begun expansion work in the station without informing the college management and stopped the work only after professors and students staged protests, he said.

The police station had been set up on occupied college area which the college needed to build the library adjacent to the existing one and required relocation of the police station, he said.

He said that police were planning to establish a reporting centre near the police station which SPLA would resist. Larkana SSP had also asked the college principal in a meeting to allow police to construct the reporting centre which the principal had declined, said the sources.

The sources disclosed that the district administration also set its sights on this site to establish a library controlled by Sindh culture department. If the issue was not resolved soon enough it would risk the entire project and put it in doldrums after the allocated funds lapsed, said the SPLA leader.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2021