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The Kolkata International Book Fair will be thrown open to the book lovers on 18 January, the day it will be inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. It is the convention that the book fair is open to people from the next day after inauguration.
The book fair will be held from January 18 to 31 at Boi Mela Prangan behind Central Park in Salt Lake. Sudhangshu Dey, secretary of Publishers and Booksellers Guild said as many small publishers had approached the guild, there will be more than 1,000 stalls from 900, last year. In 2023, books worth Rs 25 crore were sold.
He said work to set up the stall has started and they will be ready two days before the fair. “We have asked the publishers, both big and small, to put the books in their stalls two days before the fair so that it could be thrown open to the public on 18 January, the day it will be inaugurated.” Steps have been taken to ensure smooth parking for cars and two wheelers. The problem of using Wi-Fi connectivity from the fairground, which was made by some people, will be taken care of properly this year, Mr Dey said.
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The state transport department will deploy additional buses to carry the book lovers to the venue. Meetings between the representatives of the guild, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and Bidhannagar Police are held regularly to ensure a smooth fair. People from the neighbouring districts visit the pair and there will be more buses to take them to Howrah and Sealdah stations.
The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation will provide additional staff of the solid waste management department to keep the fairground clean. There will be provision for bio toilets and water pouches will be available for the visitors.
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