Kolkata, Sep 29 (PTI) The West Bengal government is committed to supporting initiatives like book fairs and helping publishers in marketing, state, Education Minister Bratya Basu said.

Basu, a playwright-columnist-actor-turned politician said the "doomsday scenario" projected with the introduction of the internet has proved to be false as books in their physical format continue to be as popular with readers as before.

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Speaking at the inauguration of 'Sharod Boi Parbon 2023,' ( Puja Book Festival, 2023) here on Wednesday, Basu said e-books can never replace printed books and he himself is partial to hard copies of any publication rather than the net versions.

The Book Festival has been organised by Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, the apex body of publishers here which also organises the popular International Kolkata Book Fair, which is actively supported by the state government.

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He pledged support of the state government to the Guild in organising more such book events.

Basu said "We the average bookworm, are not comfortable to read books on the net. Who will wish to miss the joy of the smell of books, who will want to miss the joy of physically holding one and flipping through the pages? It will never be possible virtually," Basu said.

Books in their physical form had faced crises from time to time across the world but the love for freshly minted books prevailed over any crisis. He recollected that Paulo Coelho, the popular Brazilian novelist, would put his new books on the net to ward off threats by book pirates and the internet.

Guild general secretary Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey said the 'Sharod Boi Parbon' is known for offering newly released books at attractive discounts to the readers.

"With Durga Puja approaching people are busy shopping for clothes. We encourage them to include books in their shopping list as puja gifts to their near ones.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)