Chennai Central Metro station gets new book park

CHENNAI: The public and commuters can now take a mindful break amid their hustle at the Rs 1.85 crore 'book park' launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin, at the Chennai Central Metro station on Tuesday. The 5,000 sq ft facility features a cafeteria, a small event hall, and thousands of books to upgrade the experience at the station, which witnesses one of the highest footfalls in the city.

The Chennai Metro Rail Limited has collaborated with the School Education Department's Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation (TNTBESC) for this initiative through a revenue-sharing model. According to the textbook corporation officials, the facility will operate from 9 am to 9 pm on all days and include amenities like WiFi.

The book park will host books in Tamil, English and other languages, as well as school and competitive exam textbooks, and titles on literary translation and children's literature.

Readers can enjoy a wide variety of genres, including education, politics, poetry, fiction, law, science, agriculture, and history. To attract new readers, the book park has also announced a 10 per cent discount on books. Department officials say the library will contain more than 5,000 books, considering the size of the facility.

To strengthen literary habits and preserve books, the Chief Minister also inaugurated 110 additional library buildings built across all districts for Rs 24.20 crore. These spaces have been equipped with computers and other supplies worth Rs 60 lakh and furniture for Rs 1.59 crore.

Additionally, the CM launched an e-commerce website, www.tntextbooksonline.com, to facilitate the easy purchase of books by readers across the globe.

To encourage reading culture, 70 special libraries were opened in common spaces like bus stands, hospitals and collectorates in select locations across the state for Rs 29.80 crore on Tuesday. A new building for a full-time branch library built for Rs 70 lakh in Paramakudi was inducted by the CM.