Guwahati: Dhiraj Goswami, the general secretary of All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association, organisers of the 19th North East Book Fair, claimed a record turnout in the first three days of the fair that prompted them to extend the closing time from 9pm to 10pm on Sunday.

"On Sunday, writer Durjoy Dutta participated in an interaction, which around 3,000 youths attended. Till Monday evening, a footfall of around 40,000 was recorded and around Rs 52 lakh was collected from book sales. In the past five years, we have seen a huge response from youngsters in book fair," Goswami said.

"In the 18-year history of North East Book Fair, I have not seen such a huge gathering for an interaction. Many internationally acclaimed writers have come for book fair but this time the response was totally different," he added.

He said for the first time, 73 publishers from across the nation participated in the fair.

"Internationally acclaimed publishing houses like Penguin Random House were present. There was also a book stall from Bangladesh. We are planning to increase the number of international publishers. We put emphasis on proper infrastructure so that a publisher can set up a stall only carrying the books and a lock," Goswami added.

He said the dream to set up a library at Panbazar would become a reality after such a good response. The construction of a building for the library-cum-permanent office of the association has been under way for the past four years.

"The footfall is very good, but this time we notice that many people came here as an outing. We want more readers. After all, the sale of books is average," a publisher said.