Village community halls turn over a new leaf as knowledge centres

Pune: Every day, around 20–25 school students troop into the community hall at Savardari village in Khed taluka to browse through the books neatly stacked on racks. They spend hours leafing through the pages, marvelling at the photos, and occasionally sharing a laugh or two over a caricature.
Some of them also take the books home to read and return at their convenience. This is not a library in the strictest sense, but a community hall repurposed into one.
Once a place to celebrate various festivals or for the village elders to gather in the evening for an idle chit-chat, community halls or samaj mandirs in Maharashtra villages are turning over a new leaf as gyan mandirs or knowledge centres.
According to Pune Zilla Parishad records, 350 such halls were converted into knowledge centres in 2023-24, and approval to convert 233 more was given in 2024-25.
The decision to repurpose samaj mandirs into gyan mandirs was taken two years ago by the Zilla Parishad when it launched a mission to utilise some of the spaces at community halls for setting up knowledge centres.
The Zilla Parishad has now earmarked Rs 10 crore for the project, aiming to convert approximately 400-500 such community halls into study centres. Villagers said these are mostly used by Maharshtra Public Service Commission aspirants as reading rooms and by villagers to read newspapers.
"There are community halls or samaj mandirs in most villages. But instead of being used for socially meaningful activities, many times they become hangout zones for loiterers who just sit there and play cards throughout the day. At the same time, most villages, do not have libraries or reading rooms. That's when we thought — why not combine the two?" said Chandrakant Waghmare, additional chief executive officer of Pune Zilla Parishad.
Waghmare said that a selection of books — mostly on competitive exams, general knowledge, and on social reformers — is now available in these halls. "To be eligible for this upgrade, the community hall must have been built at least three years ago, and the gram panchayat must be willing to take responsibility for repairs and maintenance. We provide the books and furniture like tables and chairs," he said.
Vijay Shendge, a villager from Bhandgaon in Daund Taluka, said, "While cities have the concept of reading rooms, such facilities don't exist in villages. But these centres are useful for youngsters preparing for competitive exams."
Waghmare said that in the future, these centres were expected to have computer labs and also serve as single-point centres for providing information about all govt schemes.
"There are children who come to read at the study centre. Many of them borrow books, read them at home, and return them — just like in a library. We maintain a record of those who borrow books from the centre. We expect even more children to come during the summer vacation. We want to inculcate reading habits among students," said Sanjay Sonawane from Savardari village in Khed.