Silchar, Nov. 25: The organisers of the Barak book fair, which started here this evening, expressed concern over the probable impact of demonetisation in the sale of books.

The 10-day fair is being organised by Barak Upatayaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan in association with Calcutta Publishers and Book Sellers Guild.

The general secretary of the Sammelan's central committee, Gautam Prasad Dutta, said they were worried about the sale in the fair because of the demonetisation of the 500 and 1,000-rupee notes.

"Many publishers did not turn up fearing loss. We were badly hit at our book fair that was held recently in Hailakandi. I hope that the situation will become normal in the next couple of days," he said.

The fair, which was inaugurated by journalist and educationist Jyoti Lal Chowdhury and Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul today, has 50 stalls.

The Sammelan had organised a similar book fair at Ramkrishna Nagar in Karimganj district from November 4 to 13 and in Hailakandi from November 15 to 23.

The books-sellers are also divided in their opinion whether to accept old 500 and 1000-rupee notes.

Gautam Kangsabanik of Batayan Book Store said, "We are in a dilemma. Even if you take the old notes, we then again need to stand in long queues to deposit it in the bank."

Some others said they would take old notes. "We take part in book fairs for extra sale. Now, if we don't take old notes, we are likely to lose a huge chunk of customers," said Sujoy Saha of Geeta Press of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Safiullah of Talim Prakashani from Calcutta said they too would accept old notes.

Addressing the gathering, Paul lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking this strong step against black money.

Chowdhury said the book fair was a meeting ground of the people belonging to different linguistics communities.

"Books of different genres are available. In a book fair, a Bengali man gets a chance to read a book written by an Assamese writer, while an Assamese gets a chance to know about Bengali writers. This strengthens bond among the people," he added.

The Sammelan's Cachar district president, Taimur Raja Choudhury, urged the school authorities in Barak valley to visit the fair and collect books for their libraries. He read out a message sent by Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.