An estimated 16 lakh people visited the 43rd International Kolkata Book Fair and purchased books worth Rs 15 crore till Saturday, the organisers said on Monday.
General secretary of Publishers and Book Sellers Guild Tridib Chatterjee told a press meet on Monday, the concluding day of book fair that an estimated 16 lakh visitors frequented the fair ground to buy books worth Rs 15 crore till Saturday night as per initial estimates from the book stalls.
"Now going by the crowd at the book fair ground in last two days (Sunday and Monday) and the initial sales figure received from different publications in these past two days, the sales figure is poised to rise above last year's sales figure of Rs 20 crore," Chatterjee said.
The guild official said the exact sales figure, which will in all probability cross last year's figure of Rs 20 crore adding the sales figures of last two days, can be known later after calculations.
The book fair came to a close at a formal ceremony on Monday night
The ambassador of the theme country in this year's book fair Guatemala, Giovanni Castillo said he was here not only as an ambassador but as "a friend of all of you Kolkatans."
Thanking the city for showing interest about Guatemala, Castillo said, "we appreciate the opportunity to represent our country in this fair. This (exchange) will continue in coming years."