45th Chennai Book Fair to set off today

on Feb 16, 2022

Arrangements are being done at full-blown speed as the 45th Chennai Book Fair is to commence today at YMCA grounds. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is scheduled to inaugurate the fair at 5 pm. He will be presenting awards including the special award Kalaignar Karunanidhi Porkizhi Virudhugal literary award. The Book Fair organized by The Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) is all set to start off today and will go on till March 6th.

The Fair was supposed to begin in January this year, however, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Chennai, the government postponed the date to February.
With around 800 stalls set at the fair, this year’s fair will open its gates at 11 am and close at 8 pm. Publishers from across the country will be setting up the stalls. The State government will have stalls as well, for the Illam Thedi Kalvi Scheme, the Department of Social Welfare, and the Disaster Management Department. Owing to COVID-19 safety protocols, the number of stalls has been reduced to 800 from 1,000 this year.
BAPASI has also begun selling tickets online for the fair and sources revealed that over 40,000 tickets have already been sold. An entry ticket is priced at ₹10 and season passes can be availed for ₹100. School and college students can enter free of cost by showing their ID cards.

The organizers have asked all visitors to wear masks and use sanitizers which are made available at all entrances. Physical distancing must also be observed. A vaccination camp at the venue has also been set up for the advantage of the visitors.