A girl looking at the array of books at the book fair on Sunday| Sayantan Ghosh
CUDDALORE: Neyveli Book Fair’s 2017 edition has turned out to be a big success as huge crowds swarmed to the venue, particularly during the weekend. However, a section of the publishers lamented that the sales have slightly diminished this year. The book fair began on June 30 and concluded on July 9.
Neyveli Lignite Corporation of India Limited (NLCIL) has been organising book fairs at Neyveli for the last 20 consecutive years, under its CSR initiative with an aim to inculcate reading habit among the public.
As many as 160 publishers had set up stalls this year. Though the footfalls were more than expected, a section of book sellers said that they saw 25 to 40 per cent dip in book sales this year. Some put the blame on excessive importance to amusement rides while others criticised the layout of the book stalls.
Venkatakrishnan of Ramakrishna Math Publication commended the NLCIL for organising the fair. “However, our sales have decreased, maybe even 40 per cent, as compared to last year’s fair,” he said and added, “It might be because of the flawed layout. When people enter the fair venue, they browse some stalls and then a portion of the crowd moves toward amusement rides or the food court. Moreover, the venue has multiple exit points, which might make visitors miss a lot of stores. We have taken this issue to the attention of the organisers,” he said.
