KOLKATA: Santhali books worth Rs 2.5 lakh had been sold at the country's only Santhal Book fair which was recently held at Jhargram.
The fair was held between December 7 to 11. Twenty six book sellers and publishers selling Santhali books gave stalls in the fair.
This is the only fair so far where caste certificates had been distributed among the SC and ST people. Two thousand and five hundred SC and ST people, who had filed applications, were given caste certificates on the same day. Inquiry is on to clear another 60,000 applications. There were stalls by the Self Help Groups and various other state government departments.
The fair was the first of its kind in the country. After coming to power Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee instructed the Tribal Welfare Department to ensure that people belonging to SC and ST get their caste certificates on time. During the Left Front regime people had to run from the pillar to post to get caste certificate.
Senior officials of Jhargram district administration said opening a kiosk at the fair to distribute caste certificates was a pleasant experience. "The beneficiaries came and submitted their applications. They were later verified and caste certificates were issued to them on the same day," said Babulal Mahato, SDO (Sadar).