Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has taken an initiative to digitise its traditional archives by setting up a digital library of international standards at the Town Hall. The project will allow the general public to access a wide range of information and documents preserved in the KMC archives, spanning pre-British Kolkata, the period of British rule, and the city’s gradual evolution after Independence.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Councillor of Ward 98, Arup Chakraborty, placed a proposal in this regard in the recent monthly meeting of the KMC.
In response, Mayor in Council (Parks and Gardens), Debasish Kumar, said that the process of building a digital library of international standards in the Town Hall has already started.
“Copies of the digital documents in the municipal archives will be stored there, so that researchers, writers and general readers can easily use them,” said Kumar.
“Many valuable documents of Kolkata’s socio-political history, starting from the anti-British movement, are in the archives of the KMC . Much of it has already been digitised.
If the digital copies are kept in Town Hall, the scope of historical research will be expanded,” said Chakraborty. According to Kumar, IIT Kharagpur has been entrusted with the project.
Besides preparing the technical framework, a committee comprising several eminent personalities has already submitted its report.
Based on the recommendations, an application seeking funds has been submitted to the state government.
“The KMC will begin work as soon as the funds are allocated,” he said.
The history of various cultural genres, including Bengali songs, theatre, cinema and sports, will be highlighted in separate sections.