The MBBS and postgraduate students of Patna Medical College virtually have no access to their library, which is equipped with thousands of books and journals, for over four months.

The library, which was shut for around three months for renovation, was reopened one-and-half months ago but students say it is unusable.

'Though the library has electricity connection, it does not have a functional air-conditioner because the authorities are yet to get a transformer installed for running the AC,' said an angry postgraduate student who did not want to be named. 'How can students sit in the library when there is no fan or AC functional? The college administration has given the library a makeover by painting its walls, getting magnetic door, new furniture and computers installed, but they have forgotten the basic facilities!'

The student claimed that many MBBS and postgraduate students of the premier medical college have enrolled themselves with private libraries on Ashok Rajpath Road right in front of Patna Medical College where they have to shell out between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800 per month.

'The library where I go to study has around 10-12 students from my batch apart from MBBS students of the college,' the student said.

The computers installed in the renovated library are also of no use to students or teachers, said a senior medical college faculty member.

'The college administration has installed computers in the renovated library but students cannot read the online international journals because there is no Internet connection. What's the use of computers then in the library?' the teacher asked.

Another professor echoed the concerns, and said the authorities had focused on the wrong things in the renovation.

'A library plays a very important role in medical education because it helps in updating their knowledge. The MBBS and postgraduate students can't find everything in their textbooks. They need to consult international journals for which they need to visit the library because international journals are very expensive to buy,' the professor said. 'It is sad that students here have to depend on private facilities because of lack of basic facilities in the college library. Recently, a cafeteria was opened adjacent to the library. I think these things are not required. The college administration needs to address the basic requirements of the students for the library.'

The seating capacity of the library is not sufficient, said an MBBS student.

'The library has only 112 seats. Not even a whole batch of MBBS, which has 150 students, can use the library at a time forget about the other MBBS batches of various sessions and postgraduate students and teachers,' the MBBS student said.

Patna Medical College principal Vijay Kumar Gupta accepted that the renovated library was inaugurated in a hurry.

'The renovated library was inaugurated before I joined as principal. There is no denying a lot of things have been half-done in the college including library related works,' Gupta said. 'When I joined, I found that library had no electricity connection. I got funds sanctioned for the installation of a transformer. The transformer is most likely to be installed within a week. However, as far as getting Internet connection in the library is concerned, it is not going to happen anytime soon. As per the plan, the whole PMCH campus has to be covered under wi-fi but the contractor has installed wi-fi only in the clinical side. They have not touched the non-clinical side. The contractor had few days ago asked me to issue him a clearance certificate though he had not installed wi-fi in the non-clinical side. I am now in the process of writing to the government authorities on this issue so that they take a decision on this. They would decide whether to continue or terminate the contract.'