HC order stalls Kolkata Book Fair

Delivering its judgment on a Public Interest Litigation against holding the fair at Park Circus Maidan...

The verdict is out: No Kolkata Book Fair this year. Delivering its judgment on a Public Interest Litigation against holding the fair at Park Circus Maidan, a division Bench of the Calcutta High Court — comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh — on Monday issued “an immediate stop work” order to the Booksellers and Publishers Guild that organises the event.

The order came a day before the inauguration of the 33rd book fair on Tuesday and practically brought curtains down on one of Kolkata’s mega cultural events this year.

Following the court order, the Guild announced that the fair has been postponed for an indefinite period. With the axe coming down on the Park Circus venue, there is little chance for a new venue to be selected and stalls set up for the fair. The order came as a blow to millions of book lovers in the city, hundreds of domestic and foreign publishers, decorators and contractors. Over 2.5 million people visit the fair on an average every year.

Story continues below this ad

Eminent American writer Paul Theroux, who was to deliver the keynote address on Tuesday, was shocked. “I learnt about the fair being cancelled barely an hour after I landed in Kolkata. I come from a country where things are not cancelled in such a manner,” he said.

Even Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee could not hide his disappointment and said, “The order of the honb’le court is unfortunate.”

Ambassadors from six Latin American countries, who had arrived in Kolkata, could not hide their dismay either. Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, Ambassador of Dominican Republic said: “This will be difficult to explain back home. It’s a huge loss for us.”

Kolkata’s intellectuals were aghast too. “Many of the authors who have come here are my friends. I don’t know how to face them,” said eminent Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay .

Story continues below this ad

And a book lover said: “Park Circus Maidan is the venue for various events throughout the year. What was wrong with the book fair being organised there?”

Meanwhile, the Guild said that it will move the Supreme Court against the verdict. It blamed Kolkata Municipal Corporation for not providing an alternative site. Last year, the Guild had to shift the fair from Maidan to Salt Lake, following a ban imposed by the High Court. This year, the corporation had handed them over Park Circus Maidan on January 14.

The petition was filed by local residents and a Sonarpur-based NGO, Voice of People. The court said allowing the fair will violate citizens’ constitutional rights of living in a pollution-free atmosphere. It also directed the Guild to restore the ground to its original shape at their own cost.