As the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela nears its end this year, publishers complained about suffering a 30% drop in the sales volume, compared to the usual sales in the fair, due to the ongoing political turmoil.
They demanded, again, an extension of the book fair until March 7, as well as refund of stall and pavilion rent they paid to the Bangla Academy, to make up for their losses.
Kamrul Hasan, executive director of Academic and Creative Publishers’ Association, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The overall sales this year have been at least 30% less than what we usually see at Boi Mela, and it is due to this endless hartal and blockade.”
Leaders of Academic and Creative Publishers’ Association of Bangladesh held a press conference at the fair venue yesterday evening, where they also urged the government to provide grants and financial assistance for the book publishing industry.
Addressing the press briefing, Osman Gani, president of the association, said: “This book fair is the largest platform for us to sell books and make profits. But this year, there has been a drastic drop in sales, which has caused severe losses to many publishers. Some of them may lose interest in this business after this fair.”
He also made the demand for extension and refund. Additionally, other leaders proposed that the Bangla Academy hand over the organising responsibility of the fair to the publishers.
Blaming the hartal and blockade enforced nationwide by the BNP-led 20-party alliance for the fair’s failure, they demanded an immediate halt to such political programmes for the sake of the country.
“Many people did not visit Boi Mela fearing violence, which affected the business,” said Mofidul Haque, publisher of Shahitya Prakash.
“The government had extended the Dhaka International Trade Fair for a week, then why can the book fair not be extended?” asked Fazlur Rahman, publisher of Obosor Prakashani.
Others who spoke at the conference included University Press Limited publisher Mohiuddin Ahmed and Somoy Prakashani publisher Farid Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Jalal Ahmed, member secretary of the fair committee, reiterated that they would not extend the fair, in consideration of security issues.
“Also, stall rent is non-refundable, so keeping in line with the fair guidelines, we will not be able to refund it,” he said.
Yesterday, 134 new titles were published, putting the number of new arrivals at 3,385.