Kolkata: The 32nd Kolkata Book Fair has run into trouble again.
After the construction for the book fair at the Maidan Grounds was stalled because of delay in permissions from the defense authorities the Calcutta High Court Monday refused permission to the Publishers and Booksellers' Guild to hold the book fair at the designated place.
The High Court has cited environmental considerations as the reason for the refusal.
The verdict is a defeat for West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya who lobbied hard with the defence ministry to obtain permission to hold the fair on the Maidan in the heart of the city.
A section of citizens have been vocal about the adverse environmental impact the fair has on the Maidan.
However, since all other fairs have already been stopped at this place, allegations of discrimination in favour of the book fair have also been leveled.
Earlier the High Court had stated that the organisers hadn't procured necessary permissions from other statutory bodies.
"The court has passed an order to this extent that until permission is granted by the Calcutta Police, Municipal Corporation and the Pollution Control Board, the guild will not do any thing regarding the book fair,” said the petitioner's lawyer, Kalyan Bandyopadhyay.
The fair is one of the biggest in the world in its category. It is built over an area of about 12.5 lakh square feet and hosts about 900 bookstalls.
About two-and-a-half million people visit the fair every year where participants sell books worth about Rs 20 crore.
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