KARACHI, Dec 30: The reading room in Saddar Town’s Jahangir Park has, over the years, gone from bad to worse. Once a favourite haunt for hordes of middle-class people desirous of reading newspapers, magazines and books, the reading room has been reduced to a shadow of its former self.

The reading room used to have all the major broadsheet dailies as well as evening newspapers, which were invariably stacked in properly marked shelves. But now it gets only seven evening newspapers which the visitors consult while seated in rundown chairs and sofas.

Most of the furniture pieces are in such bad shape that they can no longer be pressed into service and have been set aside. The tables are dirty and the lighting inside is very poor.

All kinds of people while away their hours sitting outside the reading room. At any given time one can easily detect several drug addicts and jobless people outside the room.

As a result, the number of people visiting the only reading room in Saddar Town has been declining steadily.