Guwahati: The 33rd Guwahati Book Fair organised by Publication Board Assam ended on Sunday with enormous response from the book lovers of the state. The book fair at Assam Engineering Institute playground in the Chandmari area registered a record sale of books worth Rs. 10 crore from December 30 to January 10.
“Books of Rs. 10 crore have been sold. Publication Board Assam alone sold books worth Rs. 12 lakh in ten days. It is definitely a good indication for the society,” said Pramod Kalita, secretary of the board.
He stated that the footfall hovered between 25,000-1 lakh on each day.
The last day of the fair witnessed huge crowd not only from the city, but also from different parts of Assam.
Attending the concluding meeting of the book fair, Asom Sahitya Sabha president Dr. Kuladhar Saikia said, “A good quantity of books has been sold at Guwahati Book Fair. The business of books was good. It is always alleged that the young people do not read books. But the sale of books at this event has proved such notion wrong.”
The huge congregation was also entertained with various cultural and literary programmes on each day of the book fair. Different competitions for the children were also held.
The annual Guwahati Book Fair was postponed in 2019 in the wake of anti-CAA protests which had rocked Assam. Though it was scheduled from March 14 to March 25, 2020, the book fair was further cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak.
The impressive footfall is likely to give a new lease of life to book publishing industry in Assam which was severely hit by COVID-induced lockdown and its subsequent impacts.
It is pertinent to mention that the Publication Board started the book fair movement in Assam organising a national level Book Fair in Guwahati in 1984. It was organised in collaboration with National Book Trust, India. It was a huge success. Then, the Board organised the First Guwahati Book Fair in 1987 without any collaboration with any other institution.
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