Preparations for 44th Book Fair underway in full swing
Kolkata: With only a week left for the 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF), preparations for the 13-day extravaganza are going on in full swing at the Central Park Mela Ground in Salt Lake.
The Publishers and Book Sellers Guild (PBSG), the organiser of the book fair, is taking elaborate measures to prevent call drops or tower congestion at IKBF. Russia is the theme country for the fair this year, which is scheduled to start on January 29 and end on February 9.
"The IKBF venue will be ready for inauguration by January 27. This year, there will be no call drop problem. We have discussed the issue with the telecom operators (Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL and Jio) and Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. The fair will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other dignitaries on January 29," said Tridib Chatterjee, president of PBSG.
It might be mentioned that the fair will have 600 stalls. The international complex will have the presence of UK, USA, Japan, Vietnam, France, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Australia, 11 Latin American countries and a big pavilion for Bangladesh.
Publishers from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana and Odisha will also participate in the fair.
"We are thankful to the state Transport department for offering special bus services for the book fair. All steps have been taken to make sufficient number of buses operate, to help people reach their destinations from Central Park and vice-versa," said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, general secretary of the Publishers and Book Sellers Guild.
This year, the fair will be open for visitors from 12 noon to 8.00 pm on all days. Last year, 2.4 million book lovers visited the fair and books worth Rs 22 crore were sold.
"Almost 40 percent of the infrastructure work of IKBF venue will be completed by tomorrow. We will give finishing touches to the book fair venue by January 27 morning," said Satya Narayan Sharma, an interior decorator at Central Park Mela Ground.
