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Looks like a war against books: Buddhadeb

Staff Reporter

Kolkata: “It looks like a war is being waged against books,” West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said at a “symbolic” inauguration of the Kolkata Book Fair here on Tuesday.

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court ruled on Monday, in response to a public interest litigation, that the fair, which was supposed to begin from January 29, could not be held at the venue previously decided due to environmental concerns and possible traffic congestion.

“My reason or logic fails to explain as to how books can pollute society,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said. “No civilised society can accept this and together, we must find a way out of this situation.”

American poet Christopher Meryll carried out the “symbolic” inauguration by sounding the gong.

American novelist Paul Theroux said the ‘alternative book fair’ was the best that could be managed under the circumstances.

“We are meeting secretly like early Christians…because we are all book lovers and readers,” he said. Eminent Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay said the book fair was not just an emotional matter but it involved the livelihood of a lot of people.

“But it is unfortunate that we are inaugurating a book fair that does not have any books,” he said.

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