National Heritage-listed Ferrierhall library converted to archaeology

Karachi: The oldest Ferrier Hall Library located in the heart of Shahr Quaid has turned into an archeology due to the neglect of the governments and due to lack of repair and maintenance work, the Ferrier Hall Library which has been turned into an archeology is also suffering from dilapidation.

A corner of the library has now become a mere CSS preparation center while the rest of the vast library is no more than a study hall for a few students as no books have been purchased for the library for at least the last 12 years and which There are books, most of them are now obsolete due to new research and experiments in various fields.

The upper part of the library made of precious woods is closed due to termite infestation of books and wood and lack of fumigation and students or other visitors are not allowed to enter the upper part of the library.

The librarian of the Ferrier Hall library has retired and no government officer is posted as a librarian, and the books of the 157-year-old Ferrier Hall library are no longer issued, nor are the students in them. There is some kind of interest while the prevailing “library information system” to run the library is not there.

It should be noted that this building was built in 1865 during the British rule, 82 years before the partition of India. On the occasion of the visit of this library located in Ferrier Hall by “Express”, it was revealed that there is no librarian there anymore, the lady librarian retired about two months ago and this great heritage of the country. The department head is also vacant.

An employee present there told “Express” on the condition of anonymity that according to the available information, the last purchase of books for the Ferrier Hall Library was done in 2008, since then some in the form of donation. The books have become a part of the library, but no new books have been given to the library by the authorities and sources say that every year 12 lakh rupees are allocated for this library by the Sindh government, including the purchase of books. No one knows about what is called money.

The said employee said that the books on computer, IT, medical and other subjects are years old, which are no longer useful after new research and innovation, so there is no one to read these books. Only history books are available for study, the rest of the library is either used by students preparing for CSS for their personal study or reading newspapers.

When Express found out about the closure of the upper part of the library and preventing the use of books there, another employee there said that fumigation is not done here, which causes skin diseases among the employees here. While fumigation was being done, there is also no cleaning because there is no vacuum cleaner in the library to clean its upper or lower floor, so it has to be closed. There is a record of English and Urdu newspapers in the library since 1955 but the weather There is also no provision to protect it from the effects of change.

On this situation, “Express” contacted the Senior Director of Culture, Sports and Recreation, MC Saif Abbas, and he said, “For many years, the Sindh government has banned recruitment in the KMC. We have 5 posts of librarians and all five are vacant, a few days ago the librarian of ferrier hall retired now we cannot appoint any general officer for this post.

Regarding the maintenance of the library, he said that the renovation and construction of the US Consulate has been discussed, it is hoped that the work on it will start in a few days. Regarding the budget of the library, Saif Abbas said that KMC used to keep a budget for the purchase of books and writers and poets, but this is not happening now.

It should be noted that there is no cleaning system in this building which has been declared a national heritage, the decades old book shelves and the books on it are covered with dirt and dust. There is a layer of mud on the bookshelves and the condition of the library floor is similar.

In this regard, an employee said that “Former Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shilvani established a CSS Corner here on behalf of the Rotary Club three years ago, which contains books related to CSS and CSS in one corner.” There are also S preparation classes supervised by the Deputy Commissioner District Central Taha Salem, this is the only activity that is going on on a regular basis.

On the other hand, it was also found that the library does not have computers for the use of employees, nor does it have a library information system for issuing books, books can be issued through the old catalog.