Attention Book Lovers! If The Pandemic Situation Eases, Kolkata Book Fair May Happen Between December And January

The International Kolkata Book Fair 2021 can be organised during the period of December-January if the pandemic situation eases, a top official of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild said on Tuesday.

The fair could not be organised on the originally scheduled time in January end and then in mid-July due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation at first and the raging second wave in April-May, he said.

“We can only hope if it can be held in December 2021-January 2022 but there are many ifs and buts. No one knows how the pandemic will actually behave then,” Guild President Tridib Chatterjee told PTI. The fair can be organised if the situation is conducive in terms of the pandemic easing its grip and experts giving the go-ahead, he said.

“We had chalked the organisational part for several months since early this year but the covid situation was the deterrent. We will only require a month’s time to execute the entire thing whenever the schedule is decided. Going by last year’s pandemic trend, we hope the situation could be better during the month of December-January. But we are keeping fingers crossed,” he added. “Also there is no harm if two year’s fair can be held on a single year clubbing both, if it cannot take place in December then in first half of 2022,” he added.