The book fair will be held at Salt Lake’s Yubabharati Krirangan. The state government had to step in to make Yubabharati Krirangan available for the fair after Calcutta High Court, on January 28, cancelled the fair at Park Circus Maidan a day before it the fair was to be inaugurated.

“It is not a continuation of the Kolkata Book Fair. The government had to step in because the people of Kolkata were dejected. Moreover, the cancellation of the fair led to huge financial loss for the publishers. That is why the fair is going to be held at Salt Lake,” said Chakrabarty.

The minister presided over a meeting of representatives of various publishers, including Publishers and Booksellers Guild, at the Netaji Indoor Stadium today.

The government order will be released tomorrow.The members of the committee include four representatives of the publishers including the Guild, three government officials and the minister.

“We have requested former chief minister Jyoti Basu to inaugurate the fair. He said he could not assure us on that, but he would come one day,” Chakrabarty said. He has asked publishers to try to rope in foreign publishers. “We hope this time too, the fair will be a success,” the minister said.