Kolkata : With the 50th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) 2027 expected to draw lakhs, the book fair advisory board is focusing on ways to come up with an effective crowd management system to manage the massive inflow of book lovers at Salt Lake Central Park fairground from Jan 22 to Feb 3.
“With the 50th IKBF 2027 to commemorate the 150th year of Vande Mataram and 80 years of Independence, and India (Bharat) the focal theme country, it is planned to be the largest and grandest IKBF ever. There will be huge footfall in the fairground in the 12 days of the book fair as crowd management and safety will be a very important aspect. The 125th centenary year of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, 100 years of ‘Rakta Karabi’ and the partition and great riot of 1946 will be documented and showcased in the IKBF 2027,” an official said.
Officials said that it was discussed as to how many watch towers would need to be put up and at which spots of the fairground. The fairground entry and exit points would be evaluated and it would be assessed as to whether additional and widened lanes would need to be set up or not inside the fairground for proper dispersal of movement of book lovers, officials said. Officials said that the 50th IKBF will have chief minister Suvendu Adhikari as the chief guest, but unlike the previous years when former CM Mamata Banerjee used to inaugurate, the book fair will be inaugurated by an eminent person from the literary field.
“Vandemataram will be the primary theme with special focus on cleanliness. A few issues were discussed on Saturday which will be discussed with the publishers and booksellers guild authorities and finalised for implementation,” said a member of the book fair advisory board.