The Hindu : National : Kolkata book fair future uncertain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Kolkata book fair future uncertain

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: The future of the 2008 Kolkata Book Fair — one of the largest in the world — plunged into uncertainty with the Calcutta High Court ruling on Monday that it cannot be held at the venue earlier decided upon by the authorities because of reasons pertaining to environment among other issues.

The 33rd fair was to have been inaugurated on Tuesday by the well-known author, Paul Theroux; the event’s focal theme country is the United States of America.

“At this point in time we are not in a position to say whether the Fair will be held at all this year as we have no land that could be considered an alternative site”, Tridib Chattopadhyay, general secretary of the organisers, the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, told The Hindu.

“Very unfortunate”

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee described the Court ruling as “very unfortunate.”

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghose directed the organisers to stop all construction work and restore the venue where stalls have been put up, to its original state.

A public interest litigation petition had been filed before the High Court seeking revocation of permission to hold the Fair at the Park Circus maidan in the south of the city on grounds of environmental concerns and traffic congestion..

This is the first time in the history of the fair that there is such uncertainty over its future. Its venue had been shifted from the customary maidan area of the city to an alternative site in 2007 following a ruling from the High Court then.

The venue this year was decided after discussions with the State government, the city’s civic authorities and a section of intellectuals. The court ruling has come as an “attack on the cultural movement in the State and will affect publishers, literary artists and bibliophiles, Mr. Chattopadhyay said.

Huge loss

It would result in a loss of several crores of rupees to printers and publishers, importers and distributors of books he added.

Guests from foreign countries had already arrived in the city and the Guild was trying to arrange for the holding of seminars, workshops and symposiums in different book malls, Mr. Chattopadhyay said.

A section of the intelligentsia has expressed its regrets over the ruling against the holding of the fair.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National