Bhubaneswar police reaches out to underprivileged kids, starts city’s first community library for them

Assisting people in any way possible, is what guides the police force. And doing this is Commissionerate Police of Bhubaneswar Urban Police district which has recently started a library – well-lit and brightly painted – in the State capital’s Isaneswar slum.

Established in collaboration with Bakul Library, this place has everything, from story books to picture books to materials, journals, and magazines required to prepare for competitive examinations and subject-specific books.

The twin objectives of this initiative are to bring back children to books and make them read while also keeping them away from negative influences in the society. Talking in detail about it to the media, Sujit Mahapatra, founder of Bakul Library said that just like the library movement in Jharkhand’s Jamtara — which became notorious for the phishing — helped the authorities turn away young people away from such illegal activities, the community library in Isaneswar intends to keep away youth from crime and help them inculcate the habit of reading.

The community library which has come up under Bhubaneswar police’s Basti Ku Chala Abhiyan aims to provide the children and others in the slum area a proper environment to read and learn as the houses in this area have little space for people, especially kids and youths to study.

Before this library was started, the Commissionerate Police used to take children living in slums to the Bakul library at Satya Nagar every week. Seeing the interest it generated among the kids and their enthusiasm, it was decided to start a community library at Isaneswar.

The library will be managed by Police Mitras and the authorities will ensure that books are provided on a regular basis. The police officials will also engage children and youth in different activities at regular intervals. Having taken the first step, the police are eager to start more such facilities in other slums of the city with the assistance of the local community.