16L people visited Kolkata book fair in a week; work on to fix Net glitches: Organisers

Kolkata: The ongoing Kolkata book fair one of the most prestigious annual events of the city -- has registered a high footfall thus far, with 16 lakh people having visited the literary carnival in the first seven days, organisers said on Tuesday.

The fair, which is hosting over 950 book stalls this time, has recorded 6-10 per cent rise in sales, on an average, compared to last year, Tridib Chatterjee, the general secretary of Publishers and Booksellers Guild, said.

"Between January 31 and February 6, more than 16 lakh people were found to have thronged the book fair ground at Central Park in Salt Lake," Chatterjee maintained.

Going by the trend, it seems that the 46th edition of the fair, set to conclude on February 12, is set to break previous records of footfall and book sales, he claimed.

East-West Metro connectivity and special bus services from different points to the book fair ground may have contributed to the high footfall, he told PTI.

To a question about complaints of poor net connectivity at the fair, which, in turn, is affecting book sales, Chatterjee said efforts are underway to ensure sellers and buyers do not face hurdles.

"We have received several complaints from stall owners and public on net payment glitches. We are working to fix the problem as soon as possible," he said.

The guild secretary also noted that dust pollution has been a cause for concern at the fair.

Authorities have decided to sprinkle water on the fair ground with the help of fire hydrants to deal with the problem, he added.