Book Fair: Curtains down with 20L footfall, books worth Rs 23 cr sold
kolkata: The 45th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) concluded on Wednesday with a significant footfall of around 20 lakh.
The Publishers and Book Sellers' Guild (PBSG) informed that since inauguration books worth around Rs 23 crore were sold till Sunday. The net sales are expected to breach the Rs 22-crore-mark notched in the previous edition two years back before the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Sunday during a press conference, PBSG announced that next year the focal theme country would be Spain. Khose Maria Ridao, Ambassador of Spain in India, who was also present during the announcement, said: "This is not the first time we are here in the book fair. We are proud to be here. We want to present our culture before the Bengali people and readers along with Indian citizens."
It may be mentioned that Spain was the focus country in the 2006 IKBF, which was the last year of the fair being organised at Maidan. Guild authorities also informed that next year the book fair is expected to take place during January. "However, it will depend upon the situation as the pandemic situation is not over yet," said Sudhangshu Dey, president of the guild.
On Sunday afternoon, a prize distribution ceremony was held where several publishers were awarded under several categories. PBSG has also acknowledged the cooperation and support by the State Urban and Municipal Affairs department, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar City Police, information and Cultural Affairs department and others.
It may be mentioned that this year more than 600 stalls were there in the book fair. Around a week ago the trade license fees were waived by Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation as instructed by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Guild officials had welcomed the decision as it gave the publishers a shy of relief as the trade licence fee was calculated according to the sizes of the stall starting from Rs 600.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bangladesh State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid were present at the inaugural function of the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair, 2022 on February 28.
Organisers had given special focus to Bangladesh this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the country's liberation.
The 14-day event was held in Central Park in Salt Lake near Kolkata. The book fair concluded with the sounding of a bell in the presence of dignitaries including state ministers.
