New Delhi: Broken window panes are patched with cardboard sheets. Portions of the ceiling are coming apart, and heaps of old books, coated with dust, are strewn on a table. This is the alleged state of the Dr BR Ambedkar Central Library of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Pictures have emerged online of the facility and the students’ union has flagged what it describes as “administrative apathy”.Citing the findings of a recent survey of the nine-storey library conducted by the union, students said that a majority of the library’s windows are damaged and temporary arrangements have been made to cover the gaps, leaving the space vulnerable to dust, moisture and bird intrusion.“In the past weeks, JNUSU conducted a comprehensive survey of all the floors of the Dr BR Ambedkar Central Library. Our findings were grossly disturbing. We found that almost 99% of all the windows are broken and have been held together with mere cardboard panels and sticks,” JNUSU said in a statement. The open windows were allowing “entry to birds inside the library, where valuable books have been kept”, it said. There were “several piles of books, in extremely bad condition, left on the tables without any cataloguing”, the union said. The books on the shelves, exposed to dust and moisture, were coming “apart”.Students also raised concerns about administrative functioning, stating that the post of chief librarian has not been filled permanently for seven years. An acting librarian is in the role.There was no immediate response from JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit or acting librarian Manorama Tripathi on the condition of the library.The issue came to the fore on April 2 when students organised a poster making session outside the library to highlight their concerns including broken infrastructure, lack of access to journals, and inadequate seating capacity.The union alleged that students were stopped from pasting posters on the library walls while advertisements of a private coaching institute were displayed there.The condition of the library has been at the centre of campus tension over the past few months. Protests around access and surveillance intensified last year after the installation of a facial recognition-based entry system at the library. During one such protest, members of the students’ union vandalised the system, following which the university initiated disciplinary action.In Feb, after an inquiry, the administration rusticated members of the union for two semesters and imposed fines. The action triggered fresh protests on the campus, with students alleging punitive measures against dissent.Later that month, the rusticated students called for a march towards the ministry of education against the VC’s alleged casteist remarks and other campus related issues. Clashes broke out when they attempted to move out of the campus, leading to detentions and FIRs against several students, including union office bearers. Those named in the FIRs are now out on bail.
