A fundraising drive has been initiated to help the booksellers of College Street, who have lost their livelihood and resources to the floods.
An initiative — the College Street Relief Fund — has been undertaken by the Kolkata Creative Publishers’ Welfare Association to support small and mid-scale publishing houses, printing presses and binding workshops.
The association has appealed to readers, writers, publishers, cultural workers and book lovers everywhere to stand with College Street “in its darkest hour”.
The association has said in its online appeal that this tragedy comes just days before Bengal’s greatest festivals — Durga Puja and the International Book Fair — when booksellers usually find their hope and livelihood renewed.
“Instead, they stand today at the edge of despair. Help rebuild the lives of those who have dedicated theirs to the written word,” says the appeal.
A member of the association, Maruf Hossain, said priceless manuscripts, rare books and vital machines have been lost forever, and the losses already run into several crores.
“Publications that have a wide reader base can still manage the loss after some hiccups. Big publication houses can afford insurance cover. We are worried about the small and medium publishers. They are struggling to recover from the losses. We want all to stand by these publishers who are the worst sufferers,” said Hossain, whose publishing house, Abhijan, is on Bankim Chatterjee Street.
Metro reported over the past few days how the record rain between Monday night and Tuesday morning drowned Boi Para, dealing a body blow to book sellers and publishers who were looking forward to brisk sales during the festive season.
Tanmay Koley of the publishing house Platform said the rainwater had drenched half of his books.
Small publishers like Koley often cannot afford insurance. “If the fund-raising drive yields some help, we will be extremely grateful,” he said.
A bookseller, next to Calcutta University, said they were still trying to dry the books in sunlight on the roads, in the hope that they could be later sold at discounted prices.
“The latest crisis has pushed us against the wall. We are trying to salvage whatever is possible,” the bookseller said.
The drive has so far raised ₹50,000.
“Your support will not only restore damaged shops and presses — it will keep alive the timeless culture of books in Bengal and beyond,” the appeal says.