Kirtipur, February 18:

Fund crunch has hit the Tribhuvan Tribhuvan University Central Library ((TUCL) hard.

It has not even been able to purchase a single book so far this year because neither the government nor donor agencies have provided it with much-needed funds.

“We are holding discussions with the Education Ministry to cope with the fund crunch,” Krishna Mani Bhandary, chief at the TUCL, said, hoping that the talks may bear fruit.

“A lot of readers come here asking for books on Nepal and books published in Nepal,” Bhandary said, adding: “We wish we could cater to their needs.”

Last year, the TU received assistance worth Rs 22 lakhs — Rs15 lakh from the Ministry of Education and Sports, books worth four lakh rupees from Sokagakkai International Japan (SIJ) and three million rupees from Oxfam UK. A total of 2,700 books were added in the library last year.

This year, however, no donor is in sight. The SIJ had provided reference books worth Rs 22 lakh in 1998. Oxfam UK too provided books on gender studies, which are very useful for students pursuing postgraduate studies on Rural Development, Population and Women’s Development.

The government has not allocated funds for the library for seven years. The government does not provide the TU with sufficient funds, Bhandary said, adding: “The funds provided to the TU are spent on paying the teachers and employees.”

Till last year, the Education Ministry had been providing the TU with Rs 15 lakhs every year after the latter demanded that it be provided funds to buy the books.

“The library had been receiving financial support and books solely because of its friendly relations with foreign institutes and publishing houses. Though the library cannot depend on the institutes for financial support every year, we have written to them to support us,” said Bhandary.

The TUCL is one of the major libraries of the country. Visited by the largest number of readers, it has a collection of around 2.7 lakh books.