Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa today has pulled up Chief Minister Pramod Sawant led government for the Central Library’s non-operational air conditioning system, even though the government had recently paid the contractor’s bills totalling approximately two crores to replace the system.
The HC had taken suo motu cognisance of newspaper reports on the non-functional air conditioning system at the library which houses rare books.
In November, the Bombay High Court at Goa had taken suo motu cognizance of multiple news reports that brought to light how the air conditioners (ACs) of the Goa State Central Library have not been working since the year 2019 posing a threat to the more than 40,000 rare books and documents that lie within the Library.
The Central library’s air-conditioners have not functioning for more than two years thereby exposing old texts to severe damage.
The air-conditioner system is important as the pages of old texts could otherwise turn brittle and start disintegrating in extremely humid conditions.
The library is currently using about 50 pedestal fans to provide ventilation.
