Kolkata: State Mass Education Extension and Library Services minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury inaugurated the Kolkata District Book Fair at Park Circus Maidan on Monday. "This is your (book lovers) book fair that started on March 2 and will end on March 8. All are welcome. There is no entry fee. It is an initiative to enhance the links of the citizens of the state with books," said Chowdhury during the inauguration ceremony. Speaker Biman Banerjee, vice-chancellors of different universities, Publishers and Book Sellers Guild (PBSG) general secretary Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey and PBSG president Tridib Chatterjee were also present on the occasion. While the Kolkata District Book Fair is being held for the past 27 years, this is the second year of the book fair in the city. "It is the said that the craze of buying and reading books is declining. This is not true. It is increasing instead," pointed out Chatterjee. While the book fair has more than 100 stalls featuring Hindi, English and Arabic books, a special stall has been dedicated for books from Bangladesh. Chowdhury pointed out that his department has successfully digitised more than 34,000 rare books and many more are to follow. The work of digitisation of books is also going on in full swing at the district level. Meanwhile, the condition of libraries in the state has improved a lot in the past nine years. "According to data, there are 36,000 books whose authors have passed away. We need to preserve their books for future generations," said an official of the state Mass Education Extension and Library Services department. A detailed survey has also been initiated to examine the condition of various libraries in the state.

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