No takers for books in book fair at Bangur in North 24-Parganas

There were 50 odd book stalls in the book fair at Bangur in North 24-Parganas but, no one was visible who wanted to buy any book. Most of the visitors to the fair had gathered in front of a giant stage on the other side of the sprawling premises to watch a local version of Dance India Dance.
This book fair at Bangur is one of many that are held in the run-up to the Kolkata International Book Fair in January - but, the dance program was attracting larger crowds compared to the book stalls.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 11 December 2016.

Book publishing is an unorganised sector and employs about 1.5 million people directly in Bengal - this is as per the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, which organizes such book fairs in Kolkata which usually start at the beginning of December and continue through the winter.
However, given the prevailing condition due to demonetization, the booksellers, publishers and stall owners are unable to recover the cost. Last year, 700 publishers had participated in Kolkata International Book Fair and, this year, 1,500 have applied. It is not known how many will finally be able to participate. This is because all payments are made in cash by the small publishers. They receive cash from the booksellers and pay the printer, proofreader, binder or even writers in cash. But, the unavailability of cash has crippled the industry.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org
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