Future tense for Kolkata publishers

Kolkata-based small and medium Bengali book publishers have been badly hit due to the uncertainty over a venue for the annual Kolkata Book Fair.

The Kolkata Book Fair is the second largest in the world after Frankfurt and used to register a business of at least Rs 14 crore every year with 22 lakh visitors.

According to the Publishers & Booksellers Guild, every year at the Kolkata Book Fair, of the 800 stalls set up, about 650 stalls are set up by Kolkata-based small and medium Bengali book publishers.

Each of these publishers used to do a business of close to Rs 3,80,000 during the 10 days of the fair held at the centrally located Maidan for 31 years.

But due to the uncertainty over a venue this year, these small and medium publishers are clueless as to what will be the fate of the 300 to 500 copies of books that have already been printed.

Although the West Bengal government has granted the Salt Lake stadium as this year's venue, most small and medium publishers anticipate a drop of at least 60 per cent in sales.

According to a publisher who requested anonymity, "In 2007, when the book fair was shifted from Maidan for the first time and held at Salt Lake, I made a sale of only Rs 48,000 in 10 days as against Rs 4 lakh that I used to when the fair used to be held at the Maidan.

According to another publisher, "Irrespective of the venue, the cost of setting up a stall and electricity bills remain the same. So a drop in sales really hurt.

Most small and medium publishers take up stalls that range from 12 sq metres to 40 sq metre. According to the publishers, setting up a book stall would cost around Rs 60 per sq metres.

According to a small-scale publisher, "I sell Bengali recipe books at the book fair. Since most buyers who visit the book fair are impulsive, these recipe books sell mainly during the 10 days, after which, buyers often don't even look for one.

So a proper venue is very important for visibility and sale.

In the fair that was scheduled to be held at Park Circus Maidan this year, the total sponsorship money that was expected to be collected was about Rs 41 lakh, with the ABP Group chipping in Rs 16 lakh.

This money was to be used for organising the book fair and to subsidise the stall space allotted to the participating publishers.

The Kolkata Book Fair was shifted from the Maidan area in 2007 as the High Court felt that it was causing environmental pollution.

The fair at the Maidan faced a legal challenge from some environmental activists, who managed to get it shifted to Salt Lake in 2007.

The High Court had cancelled the Book Fair on Park Circus Maidan this year and directed the Guild to restore Park Circus to its original condition and hand it back to KMC at the earliest.

The bench issued the order in response to a PIL filed by local residents of Park Circus who pleaded that the fair and its visitors in the densely populated residential area, housing several schools and colleges and two important hospitals, would violate the Pollution Act, Environment Protection Act and Noise Pollution Act.