Bhubaneswar: The civic authorities in Odisha’s Cuttack city have set up smart libraries in six slum areas to inculcate reading habits among the locals.

The libraries were inaugurated on the occasion of National Youth Day yesterday.

The smart libraries have been set up at six slums including Taral Sabar Sahi, Nimpur, Dhabaleswar Gada, Krusaka Bazar and Tilka Nagar in the Silver City.

The 1,000 square feet container libraries have been made of pre-engineering structure steel, wood, fiberglass, plastic and aluminum, sources said.

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“The smart libraries have been equipped with solar panels. Each library has around 1,000 books and sitting facility for 20 people,” said an official of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) today.

Besides, the libraries have wall paintings, bookshelves and tables. The civic authorities have spent around Rs 75,000 for setting up of a smart library, added the official.

The CMC had engaged Engineering Projects (I) Limited, a Government of India Enterprise functioning under the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise, to construct the prefab smart libraries, sources said.

“The children of slum dwellers often face financial crunch to buy books and magazines. So, they can be hugely benefitted by these libraries,” said the official.

Notably, the Cuttack city has at least 264 registered slums under its territorial jurisdiction.