Establish more libraries to give push to reading habit; VP

: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Saturday said that libraries should be established widely so as to give a push to the reading habit among people.

Naidu, who inaugurated the 'Hyderabad book fair' at NTR stadium here, said publications and the newspaper sector should try to gain new readers at a time when the reading habit was declining due to the spread of internet and TV.

Against this backdrop, establishment of libraries would help, he said.

The establishment of a library in every village and a toilet in every home should become a slogan, Naidu said.

He recalled that setting up libraries in the form a movement promoted social causes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana decades ago.

A good library should be available in every school, he said. Books about the lives of great personalities, history, culture and useful knowledge should be introduced to school children, along with their instruction in classrooms, he said.

Highlighting the importance of books, he said books contribute to an individual's enrichment in life in a big way.