Umar Hayat
SRINAGAR
The readers at City Central Library in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar locality are silently ‘bearing the brunt’ of repeated honking pitched by vehicular traffic plying on nearby road. The nuisance—is, of late, cutting short the stay of readers at the library.
With disturbing noise in the air, an apparent decline in readership has been noticed at the library. “The motive to visit the library is to read with full concentration,” says Majjid Rafiq, a frequent visitor to the library. “But unfortunately, noise emanating by traffic nearby derails our attention span here.”
Scores of readers rue over the fact—that frequent horns have disturbed the ambiance of the library, which otherwise demands calm surrounding. “Many a times, I feel it is better to read in the lonely place than visiting here,” Rafiq adds.
The problem, however, doesn’t end there.
The authorities, it seems, have also turned blind eye towards the library by shelving the hoardings at the place—to let transporters know that the library is around.
“Hoarding could have been a good idea to cut down the honking menace to a certain level,” says Asif Rashid, a local. “But then, a final call lies with authorities—who don’t seem to be in a mood, right now, to put some check on the menace.”
Finding itself at the receiving end of incessant noise, Librarian says, the study centre is indeed under the firm grip of noise, which undoubtedly disturbs the readers. “Ideally, a no-horn-zone board should have been hoisted outside the library—to avoid unwanted noises.”
When contacted, the concerned authorities say the matter will be “thoroughly considered”.
