THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thampanoor Councillor, Harikumar, too has expressed support for the setting up of a library in Chenkalchoola. ‘’Right when I read in the papers that the Scheduled Caste Minister was planning to start Vignan Wadis, I was thinking of requesting for one in Chenkalchoola. Moreover, Chenkalchoola is the largest colony in the State,’’ Harikumar said. Harikumar, however, said he was unaware of the signature campaign launched by the youth in the colony. ‘’They have not talked to me about the signature campaign. But I will put up a proposal before our MLA V S Sivakumar for a library,’’ Harikumar said. The youth in Chenkalchoola, meanwhile, have collected over 100 signatures by now. Their plan is make the school children in the colony present the signatures to Sivakumar. ‘’We plan to first show this to our Councillor and then we will submit the signatures to the Transport Minster, who is now our MLA,’’ Rakesh, an autorickshaw driver leading the signature campaign, said. Their problem is that they do not have a building where the library could be set up. Earlier, when Rajeev ran the Rajajinagar Reading Library, it functioned in a rented flat. But the library had to fold up once the owners claimed their flat back. ‘’Our only issue is a proper place for the library and computer centre. The whole area is so jam-packed and occupied that it is hard to find a decent space which could be converted into a reading area,’’ Rakesh said. Councillor Harikumar, on the other hand, has no such confusions. He says the new community hall, Rajiv Gandhi Community Hall, the one adjacent to the Fire and Rescue Services building, has already been identified for the purpose. The community hall is now used as a marriage hall and when there are no marriages, it is used as a recreation hall. The hall is now under the control of the Councillor. The first floor of the Rajiv Gandhi Community hall was originally planned as a library. But nothing has happened. Harikumar said that Shashi Tharoor MP had promised Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the library. Suresh of Sargam Arts Club says that nothing would materialise.He, tongue firmly in cheek, says anything in the name of Rajiv Gandhi is jinxed in Chenkalchoola. At the western corner of Chenkalchoola is a half-broken tattered foundation stone of a library. With a bit of effort the name of the proposed library could be made out: Rajiv Gandhi Library. Suresh, however, said he would not mind if a library comes up in the name of Rajeev, the man who started the only library in the colony.
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