The terminus will house special buses which will ply from several vantage points of the city to the fair ground.

“We have requested the transport minister for making these special arrangements for book lovers. We are also holding talks with a private bus operator in this regard,” said Tridib Chatterjee, president, Publishers & Booksellers Guild.

He added that the probable vantage points for the fair hoppers would be Behala, Tollygunge and Taratala. The organisers are at present facing a deficit of Rs 61 lakh in organising the fair. The rent of the fair ground, as fixed by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, was earlier Rs 1.2 crore.

However, the organisers appealed to the state government to subsidise the rent citing lack of facilities on the ground.

“Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has responded to our plea and has cut the rent to a large extent. As of now, we have to pay around Rs 38 lakh as rent,” said Chatterjee.

Moreover, despite various complexities over the visa issuance, the organisers of Kolkata Book Fair are still hopeful to have at least one publisher and two poets from Pakistan.

As of now, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan is still skeptical to allow any Pakistani in the city in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, but the organisers have requested to the commission for issuing the visa.

Earlier, several visa applications of the traders willing to participate in the Industrial India Trade Fair were cancelled by the visa authorities.

This year, the organisers will introduce a signature tune for the book fair that is unique to the event.

“This is a unique feature of the Kolkata Book Fair that we have introduced this year. The largest book fair of the world, Frankfurt Book Fair, also does not have a signature tune,” added Chatterjee.

Moreover, the organisers have arranged for a lifetime achievement award carrying a value of Rs 2 lakh.