THOOTHUKUDI: In a precautionary measure, the Bharathiyar Archives functioning on the Ettayapuram Mahakavi Manimandapam campus has been closed temporarily, after the poor condition of the building posed threat to readers. After cracks developed on the archives building and concrete plasters on the ceiling started coming off, authorities restricted researchers and readers' circle from entering the premises, and later shut down the structure temporarily.
The Bharathiyar Archives, which has been functioning for over two decades, contains more than 500 books related to history and works of Bharathiyar, a renowned poet and freedom fighter. The memorial of Bharathiyar, established by Kalki Krishna Moorthy in 1945, was taken over by the Tamil Nadu Information and Public Relations Department in 1981. The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University has designated a library assistant to maintain the books, while the building is under the control of the Thoothukudi district administration.
The archives is mainly used by researchers, scholars, and historians who study about late poet Bharathi, who was a stalwart of women's freedom in the beginning of 20th century. Research scholars pursuing masters in history and researching Bharathiyar visit the archives often. However, the archives building is currently in poor condition owing to lack of maintenance. The archives staff had stumped sticks and tethered them with coirs to prevent the visitors from entering the archives, sources added.
"Due to poor maintenance, cracks have developed in the building and the cement plaster of the concrete ceiling and slabs has started coming off," said a regular visitor. Following heavy rains a fortnight back, the cement plasters started to fall off and the situation turned perilous for the readers, opined another visitor.
Speaking to TNIE, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Vice-Chancellor Chandrasekar said that the university neither owns the premises nor the building to carry out maintenance activities. "The university's Tamil department is only designated to appoint a library assistant to maintain the books related to Bharathiyar. The responsibility of carrying out building maintenance works is vested with the district administration," he said.
Meanwhile, the visitors urged the district administration to take efforts to revamp the decades-old building using corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, and open the archives as soon as possible. When contacted, Thoothukudi collector K Elambahavath told TNIE that he would verify the facts about the ownership of the building and initiate necessary action.