Jan 16, 2007, 16:14 GMT
Kolkata, Jan 16 (IANS) Kolkata Book Fair organisers Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief after months of uncertainty as the defence ministry said the event could be held at Maidan, the green area in the heart of the city.
The Maidan is under the Indian Army's jurisdiction and greens have opposed any commercial activity there.
Book Sellers and Publishers Guild general secretary Tridip Kumar Chatterjee said the fair would be held at Maidan.
The West Bengal government made major efforts to ensure that the army allowed the Book Fair 2007 at the Maidan after the Calcutta High Court dismissed a public interest litigation by the guild seeking permission to hold the event on the ground.
The court ruling said the organisers had nothing to do with 'public interest' and that it did not want to interfere in a dispute between the army and a private body, sending the ball back to the army's court.
The court last year had allowed the fair 'one last time' on the greens following a government assurance.
Environmentalist Subhas Dutta, an unrelenting crusader to save the Maidan greenery and city's landmark Victoria Memorial from pollution and encroachments, had filed suits against holding of fairs on the ground. The Kolkata Maidan is a vast open space.
'For months the greens of the Maidan are turned into a place for people to defecate and pollute in every other way. Food stalls are set up and the place becomes a gigantic garbage,' Dutta said.
According to Chatterjee, the book fair is not like any other fair since it is the most awaited cultural event of Kolkata.
'We too believe in a clean and green Maidan. Last time we had sought four months to clean up and redo the entire plot of land. Also there is no other land available now which is big enough to accommodate our requirements,' Chatterjee said.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
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