Rows after rows of books were spread out on the footpaths of College Street or atop cars parked along the kerb, soaked soft in the floodwaters.

The book sellers were making a desperate attempt to sun and dry the books to salvage “something”.

Many came armed with buckets and mugs to throw out the water from their stalls.

Most stalls had additional stock for the festival season. But festivities were as far
away from Boi Para as they could be.

“We procured the latest stock of undergraduate books as college admissions have begun. The Puja editions had a great demand. But the waterlogging has damaged the entire stock. We have lost books worth ₹11 lakh,” said Prabhash Ghosh, a wholesaler on Bankim Chatterjee Street.

His son, Indranil, said that rainwater entered their three stalls and the godown, where the freshly procured stocks were stacked.

Indranil said they came early on Tuesday after being alerted about the waterlogging. “But we could not do anything. There was waist-deep water all around. Had there been a forecast of such a downpour, we could have shifted the stock elsewhere,” he said.

Just across the road, the Abhijan Publication staff were taking out hundreds of drenched books and spreading them out on the boot and roof of a parked car.

There was some sunlight in the afternoon, and that kindled hope that some of the books could be saved.

“Once the books get dry, we will try to sell them at a throwaway price,” said Maruf Hossain, the owner of the publishing house.

Goutam Saha, a member of the College Street Book Sellers’ Association, said all 355 book stalls spread over six blocks around College Square suffered losses.

“The loss ranges from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh on average. The rain could not have come at a worse time,” said Saha.

The six blocks do not include the hundreds of book stalls that are spread in and around the Indian Coffee House. These stalls, too, suffered losses.

The water level was so high that the stalls, such as National Book Store and Manisha Publication, which are high above the roads, were also flooded.

National Book Store, opposite Presidency University, did not open its store on Wednesday.

Behind its downed shutter, the employees arranged heaps of damaged books on the floor.

“On any weekday afternoon ahead of Puja, we do not get a second to relax. There is a heavy rush of customers. Now we are drying the books,” said a veteran bookstore employee.

He could not remember the last time the book hub had suffered losses of this scale.

Katha O Kahini, a book seller right under Coffee House, also did not open.

“Apart from books, three computers have been damaged. Insurance officials will come to take stock of the losses,” said an employee there.