BHUBANESWAR: Two of the much hyped projects of Utkal University - Wi-Fi facility for the students and library automation - have been on the cards for over a year now. They are, however, yet to see the light of the day, much to the disappointment of the students. While some ground work was initiated for the Wi-Fi project last year, no concrete measures have been taken so far for library digitisation. The Parija Library of Utkal University is lying in a state of neglect. Established in 1946, the library contains 2,37,695 books besides journals and 3,673 manuscripts. Of the total sanctioned 60 posts under different categories, only 29 staff look into the library affairs. Apart from staff shortage, the students have complained of lack of state-of-the-art facilities in the library. Sources said the much-awaited automation project was to be implemented through a software ‘Libsys’, costing around ` 8 lakh. It was aimed at ensuring networking of various libraries across the country with Utkal University helping users gain access to a large number of books. Sources said the required funds have not been sanctioned which is delaying the automation project, a decision that was taken earlier last year. While there is hardly any new addition to the list of books in the library, the existing ones are lying uncared for. A student of PG Department in PM and IR, Ranjan Kumar Sahoo, alleged that the authorities in charge of the library are negligent towards its upkeep. “Almost all the books are outdated and of no use for the students. When no effort is being taken to get the latest publications, one cannot expect the ambitious project of e-library to be implemented any time soon,” he said. Library automation project apart, varsity authorities had announced that they would make the entire campus Wi-Fi enabled by March-end. Much behind the deadline, this project too is moving at a snail’s pace despite the fact that the university has the infrastructure and funds. The project work will be carried out in two phases covering all the departments, hostels and guest house. Chairman of PG Council and project in-charge PK Sarkar said first phase work is on. “Work on making the departments Wi-Fi enabled is being carried out after which, hostels and the guest house areas will be taken up. After that the BSNL officials will provide the connection,” he said.Sarkar was, however, non-committal about the timeline for execution of the project that would cost around Rs 1.5 crore.
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