A press conference was organized to highlight the important aspects of the International Kolkata Book Fair.

The following are the highlights of this year’s International Kolkata Book Fair:

1. There will be 600 stalls and 200 Little Magazines.
2. There will be nine entry and exit gates in the IKBF 2022. Three gates will be the replica of three books penned by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The other gates will be Biswa Bangla Gate, Satyajit Ray Gate & Abanindranath Gate.
3. The big two halls of the Book Fair have been named after Subhash Chandra Bose and Shri Aurobindo. The Little Magazine Pavilions will be named after poet-editor Sambhu Rakshit and Prabhat Chowdhury  Also there will be a Press Corner and Mukta Mancha(Open stage) named after Soumitra Chattopadhyay.
4. For booklovers, Transport Department, Government of West Bengal has assured to provide additional bus services. With the help of Bidhannagar Police, the auto fare of various destinations has also been fixed for the Book Fair.
5. Forest Department, Government of West Bengal has come forward this year to make the Book Fair green and eco-friendly.
6. A special medical assistance service with ambulance and well-equipped doctors, by Peerless Hospitex Hospital And Research Center Limited.
7. International Kolkata Book Fair 2022 android app to locate any stall in the fair will be available from the play store soon.
8. Alliance Broadband will be the Exclusive Broadband Partner.
9. Around 20 Countries across the globe will participate in the International Kolkata Book Fair 2020. Iran will be participating for the first time this year. Bangladesh will have around 50 publishers inside their pavilion.

The daily lottery will be held from the CESC corner, where CESC will distribute Book Gift Coupons worth Rs 15,000/- per day to the lucky winners.

The ‘ Book Bumper Library lottery’ will be organized on four days of the Fair. One lucky winner on each of those days will win a Book Gift Coupon of Rs 25,000/- each.

A special ‘CESC Sristi Samman’ will be awarded this year to eminent Bengali writer Sanjib Chattopadhyay.

For the first time in the history of international Book Fairs, this year the IKBF will have a virtual live presence through the website and social media pages of the Book Fair. Live telecast will also be streamed in SNU TV and aajkaal.in.

The other major attraction of the International Kolkata Book Fair will be the 8th edition of the Kolkata Literature Festival which will be held from 11 & 12 March 2022.

The inauguration of the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair will take place on 28 February 2022 at 3:30 pm at the Central Park Mela Complex, Salt Lake, by Hon’ble Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee.

The event will also be graced by Mr. K.M. Khalid MP, Hon’ble State Minister for Cultural Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Shri Sanjib Chattopadhyay, eminent author of Bengal, and Ms. Selina Hossain, eminent author of Bangladesh along with other eminent dignitaries and Hon’ble Ministers of the state.

With five more days to go, book lovers in the city are excited about the upcoming 45^th International Kolkata Book Fair.

Priyanka Dutta