Odishatv Bureau
Cuttack: The nine-day book fair organised by National Book Trust (NBT) in collaboration with Odisha Publishers and Booksellers Association is witnessing heavy footfalls with booklovers thronging the fair ground at Killa Maidan here in large numbers.

Seeing the enthusiasm among the visitors, the organisers are contemplating to make the event an annual affair in the Millennium city henceforth.

We are now thinking it seriously to hold the NBT book fair in Cuttack every year, fair coordinator Bijayananda Singh said.

The book fair which was inaugurated on December 15 will continue till Sunday, he added.

This is for the third time that the NBT is holding its book fair in the city. It was first organised in 2008, when the NBT celebrated its Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Encouraged by the response the fair got in Cuttack, the city hosted the second NBT book fair in 2011. It was estimated that books worth over Rs one crore were sold in the eight-day-long fair held in March 2011.

Looking at the response till date this year, we are hoping that a record number of books would be sold this time and the sale proceeds would surpass the Rs one crore mark, Singh said. The publishers and booksellers are also happy seeing the number of visitors to the fair and the interest shown by the booklovers.

However, the publishers and writers are a bit worried as the demand for Odia books is not that encouraging at the NBT book fair. A total of 95 stalls are stacked with latest publications ranging from subjects like science, fiction, storybooks, novels, and other social sciences.

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