West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair at Salt Lake here on January 30.
The book fair, one of the biggest in eastern India, will be held from January 31 to February 12 at the Central Park Mela ground. Spain is the theme country at the fair. Maria Jose Galvez Salvador, Director-General of Books and Promotion of Reading, Spanish Ministry of Culture & Sports, was present at the inauguration.
There will be around 700 stalls and 200 Little Magazine stalls at the fair.
Speaking at the inauguration, Ms. Banerjee said efforts were being made to muzzle freedom of speech in the country and fuel hatred. “We must raise our voice to protect democracy, if need be. We must be alert to any bid to subvert our original history. Let us be united. We want peace and prosperity,” she said.
In a social media post, she said six of her books were launched at the fair during the day.
A pavilion of Spain at the International Kolkata Book fair on January 30, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
According to the organisers of the book fair, there will be nine entry and exit points for easy movement of visitors. “One of the gates will be a replica of the Toledo Gate of Spain. Among the other gates, there will be Biswa Bangla Gate and Najrul’s Agnibina Gate. Two big halls at the fair, having mainly English publications have been named after Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Pyaricharan Sarkar, commemorating their bicentenary birth year,” a press statement by the organisers said.
The Kolkata Book Fair draws lakhs of visitors every year. In 2022, the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair recorded a footfall of 18 lakh people and ₹20 crore worth sales of books.
