By IANS
Kolkata : The West Bengal government’s choice of Park Circus Maidan as the venue of 33rd Kolkata Book Fair has raised concerns among green activists who fear the annual cultural jamboree of such magnitude in a thickly-populated area would lead to environmental hazards.
“The place is not at all suitable for hosting such a big event like book fair. There are several problems like pollution, space crunch, lack of parking space and traffic congestion etc. Moreover, the Maidan is located in a thickly-populated area,” city’s green activist Subhas Dutta told IANS.
He said there are hospitals, three schools and two colleges located in close proximity to the Maidan. If any accident takes place, it would affect the surrounding areas of the book fair ground.
“There is no water resource near the new book fair venue. If any bookstall catches fire, it would be difficult to extinguish it. The only thing we have to bank upon is the fire brigade,” he said.
A huge fire had destroyed the book fair in 1997. The fire had spread from a food kiosk.
The Kolkata Book Fair organised by Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Guild is the largest non-trade book fair in the world. It is the world’s third largest annual collection of books after the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair.
The Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Guild had to shift the most-awaited cultural event of the city to Salt Lake last year, after green activists won a legal battle to block the fair at the Kolkata Maidan, the vast green acres considered as the city’s lungs.
“We would always suggest to the authorities to host the book fair at the permanent fair complex near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata as it would be safe and convenient for all,” Dutta said.
Meanwhile, the guild has set up an environmental protection cell after pollution-related controversy over hosting this year’s literary carnival.
The organisers had invited Subhas Dutta to be a part of the expert’s committee. Dutta voiced his concern over the increase in pollution level due to the book fair and filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in Calcutta High Court against the cultural event.
Trideep Chattopadhyay, general secretary of the guild, said a 10-member team of the environment protection cell would visit the venue Dec 30 and suggest necessary course of action. He said there would be no food stall or IT enclave inside the book fair premises this year.
“We will monitor the situation this year. From next year onwards, we will make sure the state government shifts the book fair to the permanent fair ground near the EM Bypass,” Dutta said.