OPEN DRAIN: A broken manhole cover at National Library. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Watch your steps inside National Library. Or else the trip to the repository of knowledge could end up in a lengthy stay at hospital.

Two manholes in front of Bhasha Bhavan, the annexe to the National Library, are in a precarious condition. While the cover of one of the manholes is broken, the other does not have a cover at all. The manholes have been in this state for more than a month.

The officials of the library blamed the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for the state of the manholes. The CPWD, which is responsible for the upkeep of the library, has not taken any action despite repeated complaints, said an official.

National Library director Sudhendu Mondol stated: “As soon as we noticed the state of the manhole covers, we informed the CPWD. But no action has yet been taken.”

More than 2,000 people visit National Library every day. Almost all of them drop in at Bhasha Bhavan, which was built two years ago and houses over three million rare books, manuscripts, maps, periodicals and other priceless documents.

“The manholes are on the way to Bhasha Bhavan. The swank auditorium in the building is used for prestigious events that are attended by the chief minister, eminent intellectuals and top bureaucrats. Someone, someday might just fall into the manholes,” said Saibal Chakraborty, secretary of the National Library Staff Association. “One month is enough to take remedial action.”

When contacted, the CPWD officials passed the buck to the library administration. “The library staff stole the covers,” claimed D.P. Dutta of the CPWD, who is in charge of National Library. He, however, failed to explain why the covers were not replaced.

The CPWD had earlier been accused of laxity in the maintenance of Bhasha Bhavan. There was knee-deep water inside the buildings after heavy rains in October 2005 and September this year. Many rare books kept in the underground vault were destroyed by the water.

The annexe building’s treasures include volumes on history not available anywhere else. “In October 2005, Rs 20 lakh was sanctioned for repairs after books were damaged by the water, but the CPWD did not discharge its duties. The same thing was repeated in 2006. Where is all the money going?” asked Saibal.

“Lots of rare books were destroyed in the library over the past two years. No amount of money can buy those books again,” pointed out a senior official of the library.

“The open manholes in front of Bhasha Bhavan underscore the apathy of the administration towards visitors. Building something is easy; maintaining it takes a lot of diligence,” said Sarbani Guha, a regular at the library.