This brings to an end the general disquiet among publishers and book lovers after the fair’s official organisers — the Booksellers and Publishers Guild — postponed indefinitely the most important cultural event in the Bengali calendar.
The Guild had put it off by a year after the High Court recently directed that the fair cannot be held at the Park Circus Maidan, a venue Guild members preferred.
Chakrabarty said the fair will be held between March 1 and 10 at the Salt Lake Stadium. An office of the Youth Welfare department at the Netaji Indoor Stadium will operate as the fair’s temporary berth from February 4.
Sources said Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was initially uncomfortable with the idea that the state government should organise the fair. At the same time, he did not want the fair to be cancelled and wanted the Guild and other publishers to find a way out. Unfortunately, publishers kept on squabbling.
This is when Chakrabarty stepped in as mediator between all warring agencies, and Bhattacharjee gave him the go-ahead — more so because the minister has a name for holding mega events. Chakrabarty said on Friday: “We could not have taken this decision without the consent of the chief minister.”
The minister met members of the Guild and other publishing agencies like the Bangiya Prakashak and Pustak Bikreta Sabha, All Bengal Publishers’ Association and Bangiya Prakashak Sabha. Peace was brokered by forming a committee that will be represented by all parties. The Guild has agreed to participate in the event as publishers. Chakrabarty said, “I stepped into a very uncomfortable situation. I hope this solution is acceptable to everyone.”
The state’s patronisation of the book fair brings back memories of the early 1990s when two book fairs were held in a year — one by the Guild, the other by the state’s Library and Mass Education department. The government at that time drew considerable flak for the mismanagement that characterised its fair. This led to the joining of both fairs into one, following which the Kolkata Book Fair took off. Sources said the latest development is a turn towards the earlier practice.
On the other hand, Chakrabarty said “Kolkata” has been dropped from the nomenclature because the state government cannot hold a fair for the capital only. Also, since the new venue is in North 24 Parganas, he has directed the district police to take care of the law and order chapter.