The Kolkata Book Fair will be inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee at 2pm on January 30 in the presence of Maria Jose Galvez Salvador, general director of books and promotion of reading, Spanish ministry of culture and sports.
Author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay will be awarded the CESC Srishti Samman on the occasion.
The Publishers and Booksellers Guild held a press conference at The Park Hotel on January 20 to elaborate on various infrastructure arrangements at the Book Fair.
“Out of 900 stalls, 200 will be dedicated to little magazines. There will be nine gates and one will be a replica of Toledo Gate of Spain. The halls have been named after Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Peary Charan Sarkar, commemorating their bicentenary. Little magazine pavilions will be named after author-editor Ramapada Chowdhury. Two open-air stages have been named after Mrinal Sen and Tarun Mazumdar. The children’s pavilion will be based on characters from Abol Tabol,’’ said Tridib Kumar Chatterjee, general secretary of the guild.
“An Android app will help visitors locate any stall at the fair,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, president, Publishers and Booksellers’ Guild.
Ramps will be built for specially abled visitors, according to the social media pages of the Book Fair.
Apart from additional bus and auto services, there will be direct Metro connectivity from Sealdah to Central Park and Karunamoyee. “Metro services will be available on Sundays as well,’’ said Chatterjee.
Technology will play a key role not only in providing connectivity but also help in presenting the fair to a global audience through worldwide broadcasting.
Around 20 countries will participate in the fair and Thailand will be attending for the first time.
Peerless Hospitals and Research Centre will station ambulances and doctors on the fairground. Other partners, including State Bank of India, will provide complete banking support; Meghmala Broadband will handle connectivity issues; the forest department, government of West Bengal, and National Jute Board will promote an eco-friendly environment. CESC will run lucky draws where the winners stand a chance to win cash prizes and Novotel Hotels and Residencies will arrange for the hospitality of the guests.
The much-awaited three-day 9th edition of the Kolkata Literature Festival will be held from February 9 at the SBI Auditorium, Boimela Prangan.