Book Fair: 120 to 130 buses to be deployed

KOLKATA: State Transport department has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth and trouble-free journey for the visitors to the 45th International Book Fair. About 120 to 130 buses will be deployed.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the number of buses will be increased to 170 to 180. Attempts have been made to fix the fare of the autorickshaws, carrying passengers to the book fair.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the book fair, which will be held at the Central Park in Salt Lake on Monday. The theme country is Bangladesh. The birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman and the golden jubilee celebration of Bangladesh will be highlighted. The fair will be held between February 28 and March 13.

Buses with "book fair" stickers will run from Howrah, Sealdah, Garia and Behala to carry the book lovers to the destination. Shuttle bus services will connect the metro stations from the venue and these vehicles will run after sundown till 9pm.

The shuttle buses will run from Karunamoyee and Mayukh Bhavan between March 1 and 13. State Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose visited the venue of the Book Fair on Sunday to supervise the fire safety and security measures.

This is for the first time seminars and symposiums will be telecast live. The officials of Publishers and Booksellers Guild anticipated huge turnout of people at the book fair as it could not be held due to Covid pandemic.

The fair will be held following the Covid protocol strictly. The sizes of the stalls have been reduced to create more open space.

Wearing of masks is mandatory to enter the book fair. The visitors have been asked to maintain physical distancing. Work is on to make the stalls ready before March 1.