Boimela ends with record book sales at 25cr, footfall at 27 lakh
Times of India | 10 February 2025
123 Kolkata: The 48th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) scripted many highs, both in terms of book sales and footfalls, after it concluded on Sunday.
The IKBF, which has been a 12-day affair this year compared to the 14-day run it had in 2024, had recorded a footfall of 27 lakh. In 2024, in 14 days, it had also recorded 27 lakh footfall. The book sales were a record high. People bought books worth Rs 25 crore in the past 12 days, significantly higher than the Rs 23 crore worth of book sales in 2024.
Publishers and Booksellers Guild president Tridib Chatterjee and honorary secretary Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey said that next year, they would like to have more days in hand for preparing the ground for the fair, along with more ground space.
"It was for the first time in the 48-year history of the book fair that Germany had become the focal theme country. It was with the initiative of chief minister Mamata Banerjee eight years ago that this Salt Lake Central Park fair ground started hosting the IKBF. This year the fair drew a footfall of around 27 lakh and nearly Rs 25 crore of book sales," Chatterjee said
KMC mayor and state urban and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim said that from Maidan to Milan Mela to Salt Lake, the book fair has grown in stature. "The book fair was roaming from one venue to another. The CM gave the fair a permanent venue here and named the fairground as ‘Boimela Prangan'.
According to minister Aroop Biswas, if people stand in queues at Durga Puja pandals to have a glimpse of the idol, then they visit the book fair and stand in queues to purchase books. "Books will always be in our hearts," Biswas said. Education minister Bratya Basu said that IKBF was one of the best book fairs in the world. "We will wait for the next year," he added.
Till Friday, the book fair had drawn around 19 lakh footfall which was a little dampener for the guild authorities as the fair had comparatively drawn more footfall last year. But the last two days made up for the disappointment as eight lakh visitors came at the fair ground.
Book lovers did not want to leave out the last-minute chance to flip through the pages of their favorite books and purchase. Among books which have been selling in high numbers are non-fiction, novels, children's books and those of short stories.