Kolkata Boi Mela nosedives, sales drop by 70%

This was the verdict delivered on the penultimate day of the book fair, a calendar event for Kolkata.

Publishers said the sale of books has dropped by 70 per cent since it was shifted from Maidan, though more visitors turned up this year compared to last year.

Subhas Dey of Dey Publishers said though the number of visitors has increased; sales are far below what they used to be when the fair was held at Maidan.

Publishers said more visitors would have come to the fair had proper transportation been arranged. The distance between Salt Lake Stadium and Howrah or Sealdah station, and the difficulties involved in commuting, are said to have kept visitors from suburban areas away.

The state government,

deploying fewer buses from these points, did not help the situation, a publisher said.

As all major examinations, like the Higher Secondary, ICSE and CBSE Board exams are going to be held soon, students did not turn up for the fair. The publishers held the delay in organising the fair responsible for this situation.

Meanwhile, publishers from Bangladesh are happier than their Kolkata counterparts. “It is true that we registered higher sales at Maidan. The figure is still better than what we achieve in fairs back home,” said Saturuddin Laskar of Bangladesh Prakashana.

Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, however, said the government’s participation in this year’s book fair has helped publishers do good business.