Kolkata: With only three more days to go for the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair to conclude, book lovers are making the most of the last weekend. Close to 25 lakh people have visited the fair till now, with over four lakh visitors thronging the fair on Saturday, as the fair is all set to cross last year’s footfall of 27 lakh to register its highest-ever footfall till date.With another weekend falling on Saturday, a surge of crowds thronged the fairground from late afternoon onwards. “It is very encouraging that, till now, nearly 15% more people have come to the book fair compared to last year, and book sales were also 10% higher than last year,” said Publishers and Booksellers Guild general secretary Tridib Chatterjee.Guild officials said that an average of 70% of payments to buy books is done through UPI transactions rather than by cash or ATM cards. In many stalls, there are two separate counters set up for cash and online payment, as most buyers are queuing at the online counter to make UPI transactions.“Often it becomes difficult to pay the exact amount by cash. Paying by UPI transaction is an easier method. The seamless network at the fairground this time is helping more,” said Santanu Chatterjee, a resident of Lake Gardens who bought several books from the fair by paying digitally.“Digital payment is the new norm. The majority of buyers are doing digital transactions for payment. Previously, there were mobile network problems at the book fair. The problem is now resolved, as for the last few years we are partnering with a digital broadband provider which is providing high-speed, seamless internet connectivity at the fairground,” said a guild official.Stalls of big publishing houses containing popular and prestigious Bengali books continued to draw most book lovers, with long queues to enter the stalls. Book lovers also thronged stalls containing popular English fiction and non-fiction books. The little magazine pavilion, which has a dedicated section of avid readers, also attracted a huge crowd. “We are very happy to see book lovers coming from all corners of the city and thronging the fairground every day in such large numbers,” said guild president Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey.
