Representative image
MANGALURU: To ensure children stay connected with books amid the pandemic, the rural development and panchayat raj department is reviving libraries in gram panchayats through the Oduva Belaku programme, which was launched in November last year.
So far, nearly 9.7 lakh children have enrolled themselves in libraries across the state and borrowed 2.6 lakh books.
Priyanka Mary Francis, commissioner, rural development and panchayat raj department, told STOI children are the most affected, socially, emotionally and academically, by the pandemic. “Schools have remained closed and the learning that has been imparted to them for all these years is fading. In the worst case, kids are being pushed into child marriage and child labour, as reported by various media outlets. To prevent further damage, it is the need of the hour to revive GP libraries as knowledge centres of rural areas. The initiative was launched under the guidance of principal secretary Uma Mahadevan,
Mangaluru
Karnataka
India
Udupi
Priyanka-mary-francis
Uma-mahadevan
Oduva-belaku
Doordarshan-chandana
Mary-francis
Naveen-bhat
மங்களூரு