Amenities fail to book slot at Chennai Book Fair venue
CHENNAI: Despite hundreds making beeline for the Chennai Book Fair, inadequate basic facilities at the venue - YMCA Grounds - are turning the event into a damp squib.
A visit to the venue by TNIE found essential amenities such as toilets, parking facilities and wheelchairs for persons with disabilities are inadequate and poorly maintained.
Many visitors said though they had raised concerns about basic facilities even before the start of the fair, the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (Bapasi), the organiser the event, is yet to come up with proper solutions. Adding to the concern, some visitors even resorted to open defecation allegedly due to unhygienic and insufficient toilets.
Claiming that defecating in the open is unacceptable, M Kananan (48) from Kancheepuram, a visitor, pointed out a few temporary plastic toilets installed by the organiser are unhygienic. “Many people hesitate to enter the toilets. At times, they are forced to wait outside for several minutes,” he said, adding the visitors are expecting better infrastructure in the coming years.
Highlighting parking issues, K Amuthavali (32), a resident of Valasaravakkam, complained despite paying Rs 50 for parking four-wheeler and Rs 20 each for two-wheeler, no proper arrangement has been made for parking inside the venue. “People are parking vehicles wherever space is available, sometimes blocking entry and exit points, leaving many to wait in long queues for at least half an hour,” she said. She also pointed out the shortage of wheelchairs for persons with disabilities and suggested Bapasi should arrange at least 25 wheelchairs.
Responding to the concerns, secretary of Bapasi S Vairavan said 50 toilets have been set up at the venue. “We are aware that this is not enough, but we do not have additional space as the most of the areas are being utilised to set up 1,000 book stalls. However, we have deployed more staff to clean the toilets frequently,” he said.
“At present, we have a couple of wheelchairs and are planning to add three more. Most visitors come with their own wheelchairs. Hence there is no need for additional ones,” Vairavan added.