Four watch towers, about 20 feet high, have been set up one more than last years fair, she added. Major fire breaks out in kolkata s nandaram market, brings back memories of 2008 inferno. Fire at book fair, hindu hostel kolkata news times of. The fire in the 33rd kolkata book fair in 1997 was another tragedy kolkatans want to forget. A big fire was reported at firpos market on april 23, 2002 and another at mackinnon mcengie building on november 7, 1998. Extension of submission of bills for west bengal state book board in respect of kolkata book fair 2017 pavillion. Despite poor firefighting measures adopted at the 33rd kolkata book fair, fire minister pratim chatterjee allowed his department to arrange for a conditional no objection certificate noc, a day before his own book andhakare eka was released at the milan mela ground on february 1. Some of the greatest men of letters have walked its hallowed. But the flames were doused within minutes, before it could spread to any book stall. History of kolkata book fair that starts tomorrow get bengal.
The klf will piggyback on the international kolkata book fair, to be held from 25 january5 februarylast year, 2. To the quintessential bibliophile, the book fair in kolkata the international. The kolkata district book fair organised by the state mass education extension and library services department will be held from 2 march to 8 march at park circus maidan. Calcutta book fair in english, and officially kolkata boimela or kolkata pustakmela in romanized bengali, bengali. To get the fair back to the maidan, the then chief minister, buddhadeb. It is a unique book fair in the sense of not being a trade fairtrade fair. To top that, the recent incidences of fire in the city have put the state on high alert. Fire norms flouted, book fair manages conditional noc 3. Kolkata book fair banned kolkata news times of india. Department of higher education, government of west bengal. Natures beauty and minds perception thoughts on the spot. A beautiful creation that, like the city itself, will fade, while the books will endure.
This year the fair was totally demolished by a violent outburst of fire on the 6th day and. There were no reports of injuries or damage and yet, this incident reminded all the book lovers in kolkata of the gruesome fire that burned and ravaged thousands of books in the book fair of 1997. The fire broke out on the sixth day when the footfall had reached a crescendo. The then chief minister, buddhadeb bhattacharjee, intervened too, writing to the. Stephen court fire toll at 33 highestever in kolkata. Calcuttas legendary book fair under threat books the.
There is a general consensus among the people of kolkata that the city should be termed as the literary capital of the world. According to fire officials, the blaze broke out at a coffee shop at. He was elected secretary of the guild for three successive terms, between 19961998, and during his tenure, the noted french philosopher jacques derrida inaugurated the. Bitter memories of 1997 flashed in the minds of book lovers and publishers when a fire broke out at the book fair on saturday morning. The fire broke out on january 12, 2008 and continued for four days. Seldom has a place been so full of literary heritage, as has been the case with kolkata. The 1997 fire still looms large on the minds of the both fair organisers. And for me and a friend of mine, in those days when buying english paperbacks in kolkata was a luxury still and we were students. The 43rd kolkata book fair is getting under way on 31 january 2019. Some 200 buses would ply from 15 locations to the venue, suvendu. Some lanes of the fair are too narrow for fire engines to enter.
The book fair needed more space every year to accommodate the ever growing numbers of publishers. It has a driver and pillion and on both sides carry two fire extinguishers of 10l capacity each. During the 1980s and early 1990s, calcutta played host to two annual book fairs, one by the calcutta publishers and booksellers guild, and one by the government of west bengal the grontho mela grontho is archaic bengali word for book. The stage is set for the 42nd international kolkata book fair, which chief minister mamata banerjee will inaugurate on tuesday. As per protocol, a fair of this stature must have a conditional fire noc before the fair begins and after fulfilling the conditions of the fire department the organisers can get a permanent noc. The 44th international kolkata book fair inaugurated on january 28th january 2020. The year which is coincidentally the 50th year of che guevara s immortal struggle against imperialism in bolivia. Bhaskar ghosh, the chief licensing officer, kolkata municipal corporation, kolkata. The 40th international kolkata book fair was held from 27 january to 7 february 2016. The 42nd international calcutta book fair starts with chief minister mamata banerjee inaugurating it a day before with francoise nyssen, the french minister of culture and communication. However, in case of the kolkata book fair, all rules and regulations appear to have been compromised. Stephen court toll highest ever in kolkata indian express. A prominent member of the guild, asoke ghosh, got the kolkata book fair its international accreditation. The outbreak of fire on february 3, 1997 demolished 33rd kolkata book fair and lead to huge losses.
The success of the kolkata book fair has resulted in many book fairs in smaller cities in west bengal like siliguri, and was inspired, in turn, by the first world book fair at new delhi in 1972 the popularity of the kolkata book fair was seminal in india being nominated the guest of honour at the frankfurt book fair in 2006, according to the frankfurt book fair organizers. Restrict fire to the place of its origin homas are an important religious practice in hinduism where they are part of sanskar ceremonies. Everything about kolkata book fair 2020 rider escaped. The kolkata police facebook page had been popular already, says sarkar, and, initially, the page updated regular crime stories in. Last year, it was forced to shift to a stadium in the citys periphery, salt lake, an area defined by malls and it. Books may be centrestage at the kolkata book fair, but the dust is more than background noise. It was from this time onwards that the dates of the kolkata book fair started being mentioned in the calendar of the ipa each year. In 2004, the fair was banned from its location in the heart of kolkata, the maidan. The example of the frankfurt book fair a commercial trade fair of books came up. West bengal chief minister mamata banerjee will inaugurate this fair. In january 2005 the hungry tide was awarded the crossword book prize, a major indian award. Express photo chief minister mamata banerjee and russian ambassador to india nikolay rishatovich kudashev will inaugurate the 44th international kolkata book fair on january 29 at central park, salt lake.
With 56 stalls of 34 publishers, the first kolkata book fair was organised on march 5, 1976, at the ground opposite academy of fine arts, beside victoria memorial. The transport department will ferry book lovers to central park, salt lake, this years book fair venue. Unlike other book fairs of india, this fair is not centred on the sole benefits of wholesale distributors, so you will love the environment of the ground. Like the engines, the enfield bikes are bright red in colour. The 44th international kolkata book fair will begin on january 29 at central park, salt lake. The fire department has four fire engines deployed around the park and 10 fire bikes too.
The festival presents a real experience of fair ground with the flavour of books along with the enjoyment of listening to the famous lyricists, singers and indian poets. Status report on funds released by higher education department for setiing up of virtual classrooms. Calcutta book fair in english, and officially antarjatik kolkata boimela or antarjatik kolkata pustakmela. The book fair is the second biggest festival in bengal after durga puja, where thousands of people from all over the state come to the city to. On february 3, 1997, a stall at the 33rd kolkata book fair at maidan caught fire and burned down onethird of the entire complex. The book fair has been celebrated in theatre, literature, songs and limericks in calcutta. A massive fire in 1997 burned over 100,000 books and caused one visitor to. Some residents see the absence of the book fair in kolkata s centre as a significant blow to. Calcuttas legendary book fair under threat books the guardian. In this festive time, another attraction is the 7th kolkata literature festival, which is a glory of the book fair. The book fair was inaugurated by ms magela baudoin. Ive reached the city in time for the 33rd annual kolkata book fair, the. The fair was inaugurated by the then state education minister, mrityunjay bandyopadhyay.
The international kolkata book fair and officially antarjatik kolkata boimela or antarjatik. The popularity of the calcutta book fair was seminal in india being nominated the guest of honour at the frankfurt book fair in 2006, according to the. More than 100,000 books were charred in the fire and one person named jiten seal died from a heart attack during the stampede. The fire and emergency services department will also deploy four fire bikes to patrol the periphery. Gunter grass, an outspoken critic of kolkata, said that the book fair is a metaphor of life. It was sold cheap the day after the fire because of a little black spot in one corner of the back cover. The success of the calcutta book fair has resulted in many book fairs in smaller cities in west bengal like siliguri, and was inspired, in turn, by the first world book fair at new delhi in 1972. A large fire in 1997 destroyed over one third of the fair, burnt over 100,000 books and caused the death of a visitor jiten seal, who suffered a. He is a member of the publisher and booksellers guild, the organisers of the kolkata book fair, which is asias largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world. Proper steps and precautions should be taken so that incidents such as this are not repeated in the future years. In 1997, six days into the fair, a massive fire broke out at the venue. The short clipping of the book fair fire in 1997 has been taken from wilderness films india pvt. Kolkata book fair 2012 was also opened by the chief minister on 24 january 2012. Kolkata book fair, indian kolkata book fair, famous.
No casualty was reported so far as shopowners and customers were evacuated from the storey building, which housed one of the biggest wholesale markets in the country, a senior official of the fire services department said. I still remember buying that book cheaper from one of the illfated bookstalls in the 1997 kolkata book fair. Kolkata book fair caught fire on february 3, 19 years ago. They can gain quick access to the ground in case of an emergency. Clarke award for 1997 and the glass palace won the international e book award at the frankfurt book fair in 2001. Kolkata24x7stage is set for the 42nd international book fair. The book fair is the second biggest festival in bengal after durga puja, where thousands of. Setting aside the permissions granted by kolkata police and the fire services, the court observed that apart from posing a threat to the.