Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim laid the foundation stone of a Gyan Mandir in Gangtok on Monday.
Gyan Mandir is a centre of information and learning in the state capital.
The Chief Minister urged the Sikkimese people to take advantage of reading materials to be made available at the world-class Gyan Mandir to acquire knowledge to compete with the best in the country.
“I am sure that the ‘Gyan Mandir’, a centre of information and learning, will hugely benefit the people of Sikkim in acquiring knowledge and go a long way to help in the development of the state,” he said.
Gyan Mandir will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore, spread over 2.36 acres of land.
A firm from Kolkata, Artech Consultant Pvt Ltd will construct the world class centre, by January 24, 2021.
The building will have capacity to store 20 lakh volumes of physical books, E- books, periodicals, documents, manuscripts.
The architectural design of the building is said to be in the form of an open book with three blocks with a glass pyramid topped internal atrium.
It will have a facility to provide space for an art exhibition, E-library, library initiation centre, publishing and marketing sections, seminar halls for conducting workshops and all relevant infrastructure facilities required for a World Class Knowledge Centre