The incident in which more than 11,000 books were burnt in a fire at a public library run by an elderly poor man in the area where he lives has continued to attract attention on social media.
Syed Ishaq, 62, is a labourer. He started a public library in the area in January 2011 so that people in his area could read more books. Meanwhile, a fire broke out in his library on April 9. At around 3.50 am on Friday, a resident near the library reported the fire to Syed. But Syed rushed to the spot and could not control the fire. All 11,000 books in the library were on fire. The library, which operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Syed told the Indian Express that “some people had already caused problems with the operation of the library and the incident was premeditated.” He also said. Syed has lodged a complaint with the Udayagiri police. The case has been registered under Section 436 of the Indian Penal Code.
Udayagiri police said they were investigating the case from all angles based on the allegations made by Syed Ishaq and speculated that there may have been an accidental fire from a shop near the library or a nearby electricity pole.
“Books of all religions, books by poets like Kuvempu, books on freedom fighters, all kinds of books were in his library,” said Syed. Apart from this, he has in his library about 3000 Bhagavad Gita books, Quran, Bible and daily newspapers in 17 languages including Tamil, Kannada, Urdu and English.
“We live in slums. As a child, I could not get an education. But I wanted my people to read. My libraries will have Kannada and Urdu language books. I want the Kannada language to thrive. Some people who do not want the development of the Kannada language have conspired to burn down the library. ” As charged.
He added, “I do not want this to be the end of the story. This library may have burned out but I will not give up my attempt. Syed Ishaq, who hopes to set up a new library on the site, has been receiving unanimous support from social media. Many are helping him set up the new library.
