If it’s culture, Kolkata springs to its defense with great alacrity. Never mind if that appears too odd. Much the same is happening with regard to Kolkata Book Fair. The tussle is whether the fair will be allowed to take place in Maidan.
The Booksellers and Publishers Guild that organizes the fair is bent upon holding the fair off Park Street – JLN Road crossing, and there is good reason for that. The fair records nearly 25-lakh footfalls during the 10-day fair, which is possible only because the venue is conveniently located. The Guild fears if the fair shifts away from there, the rush of visitors will also decrease.
Precisely this is the reason why the fair must shift. A huge congregation of people is not conducive to keep pollution of environment in check in Maidan.
There are other issues at play. The industry fair end-December at the same venue was not permitted for the reason of pollution of environment. Why then must book fair be allowed there? By clearly following double standards, isn’t the government indicating that in its view culture is so important than commerce that it can be allowed to cause any harm to the society at large?
Which is why the honorable High Court’s dismissal of the Guild’s clever ploy to treat the book fair as a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) deserves unbridled acclaim (see this story). Like many who love the city, I’ll be happy to see Maidan freed from large congregations of all hues, whether cultural, political or anything else.
Let the lungs of the city be spared any damage hereafter.
Related reading: Will the book fair shift?
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