ROURKELA: At a time when the younger generation, hooked to the mobiles, TV and internet, is fast-moving away from books, Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pasan Kalyan has taken it upon himself to revive the valuable habit of reading among the people of the district. Kalyan on Thursday launched a campaign ‘Sundargarh Bahi Padha’ to promote reading by distributing books among the people in Sundargarh town. He reached out to the people at roadside stalls and engaged with them over cups of tea. While motivating them to read, he gifted books to them.
The district administration plans to extend the initiative to schools and villages in the coming six months with focus on improving school and public libraries, and equipping all offices and waiting rooms with books. Further, reading sessions have been scheduled to be conducted every week at the Collector’s residence campus and other places involving people of all ages including students.
“Books are the best teachers. To improve morality and openness in the society, everyone has to read. It could be any genre. Reading is the starting point,” said Kalyan adding that the habit stimulates curiosity in one’s mind and prevents social corruption.
District Chief District Medical and Public Health Officer (CDM-PHO) Dr SK Mishra said the present generation has almost abandoned the habit of reading. “Youths and students confine themselves to prescribed courses of study and refuse to go beyond that,” he said. Undoubtedly, internet connection and electronic gadgets like computers, laptops and mobile phones provide a sea of information and ready-made knowledge but simultaneously decrease the creativity in individuals, Mishra added.
“Social media has a role to play. It kills time, creativity and the urge to pick up a book. It may be noted that people with reading habits have lesser chances of suffering from Alzheimer’s,” he said. Presently, of the four Government-run public libraries in the district three are functional, albeit with few readers. The initiative has drawn appreciation from all sections of society. Kalyan has sought collective participation to make the initiative a success.