Mysuru cop starts library in station to curb smartphone obsession

MYSURU: A police inspector in the city has started a reading library in his police station to encourage colleagues and visitors to read, instead of constantly scrolling their smartphones. R Venkatesh at VV Puram police station has managed to gather about 300 books for the small reading library, despite his high-pressure job schedule.
Venkatesh said that most of the time people and a section of police officers at the station keep checking updates and messages on their phones and waste their leisure time. This could impact their physical as well as mental health, he added. To curb their social media obsession, the small library has been opened, he said.
The reading library has earned praise from residents and officers.
Gopal Krishna, a retired librarian, has already donated a few books to the library. He praised the initiative of setting up the library inside a police station. Books provide authentic information and develop awareness in a reader. “I visited the library and donated few books,” he said.
The majority of the 300-odd books are on physical and mental health, hygiene, culture and the life of freedom fighters, litterateurs and Jnanapeeth awardees. To start with, only Kannada booklets are kept.
Pavan BK, a head constable, said the library would encourage police officers to develop a reading habit. “The concept of the library in a police station is good. Policemen who are on night duty can use some time to read books, instead of being hooked to their mobile phones,” he said.
People visiting the police station for work related to their passports and other services have to wait to get signatures from officers. At that time, they can read about health and culture, Venkatesh said.
The reading library was opened by Mushtaq, a seller of used books, on Vijaya Dashami. Mushtaq has been selling books for the last two-and-half-decades in the police station area.
Venkatesh also started a library in Lakshmipuram police station when he was posted there some months ago. The purpose, he said, was to encourage the police and the public to cultivate a habit of reading. The inspector is himself a voracious reader.