Faiz Ahmed changes image of cybercrime hub Jamtara to citadel of education
Seraj Anwar / Ranchi
Jamtara was a non-descript town in Jharkhand’s Santhal parganas till an organized network of cyber criminals turned it into a crime hotspot for all the wrong reasons.
Earlier, there were stories of how robbers waylaid passengers from Zaharkhurani and looted them and then the place came to be known for the cyber criminals who have defrauded people by making a fake phone calls and withdran monies from the bank accounts. Some of the known cases executed by these fraudsters are:
This trend has been captured in web series Jamtara – sabka number ayega being shown on the OTT platform Netflix.
Here comes the change maker
Then came Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz, an IAS officer of the 2014 batch hailing from Bihar, as a Godsend to change turn this image into a memory of the past and to make a new beginning for the district.
Faiz Ahmed was posted as the District Development Commissioner, Jamtara, and he has proved how a young IAS officer can make change on the ground and transform India. He has launched what can be the first one in the country - a mission to give a library to each of district’s 118 panchayats.
Faiz Ahmed inaugurating a new library
Today Jamtara’s 112 panchayats boast of a community library. Faiz Ahmed told Awaz- the Voice that within a few days his mission will be completed as the process of setting up libraries in remaining six panchayats is going on.
Fair Ahmed says from the moment he got his orders of posting, he was determined to change the image of Jamtara.
The idea behind a library for each panchayat is to provide an environment to the youth to get drawn to education and reading books. This will eventually help them think of sitting in competitive examinations without having to go to a big city or town for attending the coaching classes.
Faiz said this idea occurred to him while taking a tour of the district in search for a premises for a Court. A villager from Chengadih told him that if there was a library in his village, it would help everyone.
“His idea touched me and I decided to do something meaningful in this direction,” Faiz Ahmed said.
He not only converted old buildings into libraries he also got new premises constructed to house the books.
To start with, Faiz Ahmed found a government building in a dilapidated condition in the city. He decided to raze it and rebuild on the land. However, the estimated cost of rebuilding turned out to be too high and he had to give up this idea.
His mind turned to a number of such buildings that were not being used and were laying in dilapidated condition. He decided to mark such buildings and renovate then for housing the libraries.
Inside a puiblic library in a village in Jamtara
After the buildings were ready in each panchayat, he formed a committee of local villagers for maintenance of the library.
Faiz Ahmed says that his initiative is serving two purposes. The first is to put in use the idle buildings and to build social and community bonding among the villagers through the common asset of the library.
“I believe a library can play an important role in the development of any community,’ he said.
Faiz Ahmed had initially plans for creating 20 to 30 libraries. However, seeing the enthusiasm of the locals, he decided to extend the project to all panchayats.
The public are encouraged to donate books to these libraries and their petty incidental expenses are met from conversion of resources. The government departments are providing free water and power to the libraries whereas the wherewithal like tables, cupboards, chairs etc are being bought with the CSR funds coming from the corporate.
Faiz says there are no formal guidelines for the maintenance of the libraries as their security and maintenance has been entrusted to the village communities. The committe decide how long a library should remain open and who should hold the charge of the librarian and the treasurer.
Faiz Ahmed supervising the new buildings for libraries
A bank account has been created for donations coming towards this public cause.
Faiz Ahmed says organizing an Inter-library debate competition and review of each library are part of his future plans.
A few days ago Faiz Ahmed had ordered the teachers of the government high school should take turns to be posted on Sundays in the community libraries.
This is to motivate the poor children to take to the studies.
Outdated libraries are one of the reasons for low literacy rates in many parts of India and Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz is showing the way to the young administrators to change this at almost nil cost.
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