Kolkata: Five books written by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be published during the 43rd International Kolkata Book Fair.
On Monday, during a Press conference held by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, officials informed that Banejee's books have been bestsellers till the last book fair and are expected to be remain the same this year as well. The count of books by the Chief Minister will reach 85 this year.
According to the guild authorities, one of the five books contains 'shayaris' written in Urdu. Among the rest, two books contain poems and other two contain essays.
During the conference, secretary of the guild Tridib Kumar Chatterjee informed that this year, Bangladesh has been allotted the largest pavilion apart from the theme Country Guatemala. 41 publishers will take part in the book fair.
The director of the guild Sudhangshu Dey informed that this year, the guild has emphasised more on the safety and security of the visitors. According to Dey, the space for pedestrians has been increased to enable hassle-free walking.
Adequate numbers of CCTV cameras will be in place. Firefighters along with two fire tenders will also be at the book fair premises round the clock.
On Monday afternoon, minister of state for Fire and Emergency Services Sujit Bose visited the book fair premises and took stock of the fire and safety management systems there.
The guild authorities have also stated that the decision of the grand prize books along with a book shelf worth Rs 1 lakh, will be done in multiple phases.
Previously, it was decided that the lottery would be conducted on the last day of the book fair. But later, it has been decided that it will be done in three phases.
"Our director had the idea of doing the lottery in three phases as several buyers may leave Kolkata or may go out of the city. In such cases if they win, they won't be able to be present in the lottery and get the prize. Thus, we have decided to do it in phases. Every third day during the fair, there will be a lottery where one will be gifted with the book library announced previously," said an official of the guild.