Rashtrapati Bhavan library gets audio-visual section

President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday inaugurated a new audio-visual section in the Rashtrapati Bhavan library which will house historical speeches, films and footage.

The new section brings together archival material procured from All India Radio (AIR), Films Division and Doordarshan.

"The president watched a newsreel on the departure of Lord Mountbattenfrom India and swearing in of Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) as the first Indian Governor General obtained from the Films Division archives," said a statement from the presidential secretariat.

He also listened to speeches of Rajagopalachari, and presidents Rajendra Prasad and S.Radhakrishnan on different topics obtained from the AIR archives, it added.

The section also includes speeches by Lord Mountbatten and Zakir Husain. In addition, it has films on the lives of Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Zakir Husain, Radhakrishnan and the first Republic Day parade etc.

Housing over 15,000 books, the library was in a dilapidated condition until last year, when President Mukherjee expressed his wish to restore it to its original pristine glory of the 1950 era.

The library, which faces the Rashtrapati Bavan forecourt and provides a grand view of both the South and North Blocks, as well as of Raisina Hill and the magnificent boulevard stretching three kilometres to the India Gate martyrs' memorial received a major facelift in September, 2012.