Jaipur: Jaipur’s iconic soochna kendra (information center) was permanently closed on Monday. After five decades of existence it would be replaced by a fun city and digital museum. The building spread over 12876 square meter plot is, situated on Tonk road close to famous Diggi Palace where Jaipur Literature Festival is held every year. It would be soon demolished displacing a treasure trove of 66200 books, 7700 files of newspapers and a free education center for poor children.
The information popularly called soochna kendra was inaugurated by then president Zakir Hussain on May 9, 1968. Before that for 10 years it operated in Maharaja Library in Tripolia Bazar in the walled city. Also, here the first journalism university initially began operations in 2012.
“There were newspapers as old as 60 years that included all 17 volumes of Harijan a news paper edited by Mahatma Gandhi,” said Sunny Sebastian, former vice chancellor of the now defunct Harideo Joshi university of Journalism dissolved by the Raje government two years ago. The new building became center of attraction for budding students who came here to study and research old references. Many students who used its study room and library went on to become civil servants while some made their names as writers and intellectuals.
