Publishers, sellers reeling under rain blow in book hub College Street

Kolkata, Sep 24 (PTI) Books worth lakhs of rupees were damaged in the early September 23 rains in shops and stalls located across the book hub of College Street in Kolkata, as the Publishers and Booksellers Guild is still assessing the extent of total loss on the eve of West Bengal's biggest festival.

Guild executive committee member and one of the owners of Dey's Publishing, Apu Dey, said every single publisher - big or small - had to bear the brunt of nature's fury, and the damage was more severe than what happened during Cyclone Amphan in 2020.

"The entire boipara (bibliophile's hub) is in disarray as the natural disaster dealt a blow to our business. While the total loss will run into multiple lakhs, we will be able to arrive at an approximate figure after the Durga Puja," Dey told PTI.

He said his publication itself incurred Rs 5-6 lakh losses as printed pages, which were kept on the floors of godowns, courtyard and stores before binding, were destroyed beyond restoration.

Guild President Sudhangshu Dey said, "As many small shops in College Street are situated on the road, the books stored in these outlets got damaged as the downpour exceeded all predictions and no preventive measures were taken." Guild Secretary Tridib Chatterjee, said the Patra Bharati publication owned by him suffered losses to the tune of Rs 10-12 lakhs.

"We mostly print books ordered online for the festive season. As there was no prior warning about such heavy rainfall, the printed materials ready for binding got soggy. It is a big loss before the festival," he said.

Dey said, like the time of Cyclone Amphan, when various organisations came forward to help the small booksellers and publishers, he wished there is a similar initiative by clubs to help these people this time.

He said the guild will formulate its response after assessing the damages once the festive season is over.

To a question if the setback will affect next year's International Kolkata Book Fair organised by the Guild, he said, "It is too early to say that. But I think we will be able to overcome the crisis by that time." The name “College Street” traces back to the establishment of Hindu College, which is now Presidency University, in 1817 by David Hare. Spanning 900 meters, it stretches from Bidhan Sarani Road to Bowbazar, intersecting MG Road and Surya Sen Street. According to a central government website, it is the world’s largest book market and Asia’s largest second-hand book locality.

At least 10 people were killed, nine of them due to electrocution, as torrential overnight rain – among the heaviest in nearly four decades – left Kolkata and adjoining districts paralysed on Tuesday, crippling air, rail and road transport, shutting educational institutions, and prompting the state government to advance Puja holidays.

The downpour – 251.4 mm in less than 24 hours – was the highest since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in the last 137 years, only behind the record 369.6 mm in 1978, 253 mm in 1888, and 259.5 mm in 1986.

It turned arterial roads into rivers, snapping Metro Rail and train services, and throwing air travel into disarray, as the city gasped for normalcy ahead of West Bengal’s biggest festival - Durga Puja. PTI SUS NN