2 years after quake, library books still in debris 
Shariq Majeed

Poonch, February 24
More than two years after the deadly earthquake brought down the historic Shri Jagat Dev Singh (SJD) library here, the state government has failed to give the books their rightful place. While some of the books continue to remain buried in the debris, many more have been stolen by the locals.
“The books are stolen by the people. Even a writer who claims to write the only history on Poonch and Rajouri regions also managed to steal most of the local original sources on it,” said Shoket Mir, local youth leader and social activist. “However, what pains us the most is that some of the invaluable books are still buried under the debris and the department of libraries don’t bother to recover them,” he added.
He further said while the department has shifted the books to two rooms in the district industries centre, only few readers know about its changed location.
Visitors to this library said it had a good collection of books, including the ones on art, culture, literature, science, and the local and international history. The prominent writers whose books were housed here included famous Urdu writers Krishan Chander, Charag Hassan Hasrat (contemporary of world famous Urdu poet Allam Muhammad Iqbal), historian Muhammad Din Fok and Sufi writers Baba Fareed and Baba Bulle Shah.
Every effort to get the director libraries to respond to the allegations did not materialise, however, a junior officer of the libraries department told The Tribune that the department has asked the district administration to identify the land for construction of new library. He further claimed that department is in the process of providing new books to the library.