{"id":9028,"date":"2020-07-25T00:52:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T00:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=9028"},"modified":"2020-07-25T00:52:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T00:52:18","slug":"at-kolkatas-battered-college-street-cyclone-snatched-even-books-from-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=9028","title":{"rendered":"At Kolkata\u2019s battered College Street: \u2018Cyclone snatched even books from us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"editor\" id=\"storycenterbyline\"> Written by \t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/profile\/author\/santanu-chowdhury\/\" class=\"bulletProj\" id=\"written_by1\">Santanu Chowdhury<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/profile\/author\/atri-mitra\/\" class=\"bulletProj\" id=\"written_by1\">Atri Mitra<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t | Kolkata |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"dateModified\" content=\"2020-05-26T13:45:03+05:30\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPublished: May 26, 2020  1:45:03 pm\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?w=759\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"759\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"422\"\/><\/span><span class=\"custom-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6427914 size-full\" alt=\"At Kolkata\u2019s battered College Street: \u2018Cyclone snatched even books from us\u2019\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg 759w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=450,250 450w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=600,334 600w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=728,405 728w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6427914 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg\" alt=\"At Kolkata\u2019s battered College Street: \u2018Cyclone snatched even books from us\u2019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg 759w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=450,250 450w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=600,334 600w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=728,405 728w, https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2020\/05\/college-street-759.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px\"\/><\/noscript> Publishers and Booksellers Guild estimates that books worth Rs 5 crore were destroyed in cyclone Amphan. PTI<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of books damaged in last week\u2019s Cyclone <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/what-is\/cyclone-amphan-6410113\/\">Amphan<\/a> pockmark the pavements and tram tracks in Kolkata\u2019s iconic College Street area, an attempt by booksellers to dry and save whatever they can. Uprooted tree trunks and branches lie strewn nearby, a testament to the storm\u2019s calamitous effect.<\/p>\n<p>First, it was the <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/about\/coronavirus\/\">coronavirus<\/a>-triggered lockdown, then the cyclone hurtled down six days ago, leaving hundreds of bookshops in the area battered.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cyclone Amphan: Why Is It Essential To Protect Sundarban Mangroves\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3wMc7mHE-4E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Owners of small shops and makeshift stalls at College Street \u2014 said to be India\u2019s largest book market \u2014 are staring at an uncertain future, with many resigned to selling damaged books for Rs 6 a kg to \u201ckabadiwalas\u201d, or scrap dealers.<\/p>\n<p>The Publishers and Booksellers Guild estimates that books worth Rs 5 crore were destroyed in the cyclone.<br \/>Among the affected shopkeepers is 40-year-old Muhammed Kashem Midde, a resident of Jangipara in Hooghly district. He has returned to the shop for the first time in two months to assess the damage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom March 23, our shop has been closed. We have lost business worth lakhs. We have no money now. This cyclone has snatched even the books from us. Rainwater accumulated inside my shop. Books worth Rs 90,000 have been destroyed. We are collecting some of the undamaged books and sending them to our village,\u201d says Midde.<\/p>\n<p>Another shopkeeper, Sujit Saha (50), says he visited his shop a day before the cyclone made landfall, and kept all exercise books on upper racks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut due to strong winds, those books fell on the floor and were damaged by rainwater. Exercise books worth Rs 5,000 have been ruined. After drying these books, I will distribute them to poor children,\u201d Saha adds.<\/p>\n<p>He says April and May constitute the peak season for selling school and exercise books. But due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/pandemic-explained-who-novel-coronavirus-covid19-what-is-a-pandemic-6309727\/\">pandemic<\/a> and now this storm, booksellers have lost a great deal of money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this peak season, CBSE, ICSE, Higher Secondary students usually buy school books. But due to lockdown, there was no business. We have lost more than Rs 50,000 in business. Now, we are selling these wet books to \u2018kabadiwalas\u2019 at Rs 6 per kg,\u201d laments Saha.<\/p>\n<p>Sheikh Gulam (32) seconds him. A resident of Gochoran in South 24 Parganas district, 50 km from College Street, Gulam has cycled all the way to the market. \u201cDue to the lockdown, we had no conveyance. So, we cycled to the market. All our books got soaked in water. These are of no value. We will sell these books to \u2018kabadiwalas\u2019 now,\u201d rues Gulam.<\/p>\n<p>Many who live in faraway districts could not come to save the books due to lockdown restrictions. \u201cHow are we supposed to come here during lockdown?\u201d asks another stall owner.<\/p>\n<p>The 1.5-km stretch of College Street is lined with 700 licensed stalls, 500 shops of noted publishers, and 400 unregistered stalls.<\/p>\n<p>Nicknamed \u201cBoi Para\u201d (Book Town), College Street\u2019s history runs parallel to that of many educational institutions such as Hindu College (established in 1817 and later renamed Presidency College), University of Calcutta, Sanskrit College and University, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, Hindu School and Hare School. Its eclectic offering of books has attracted the city\u2019s intelligentsia for decades.<\/p>\n<p>The Publishers and Booksellers Guild has appealed to Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/about\/narendra-modi\">Narendra Modi<\/a> and Chief Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/about\/mamata-banerjee\">Mamata Banerjee<\/a> for financial assistance to rehabilitate the stall owners. They have also created a separate relief fund for the booksellers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublishers and booksellers were already in acute crisis due to the lockdown. Now, the cyclone has further plunged them into deeper financial loss\u2026 We appeal to all sections to come forward and help these publishers and sellers,\u201d implores Tridib Chatterjee, the guild president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"appstext\"><strong>\ud83d\udce3 <em>The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/indianexpress\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here to join our channel (@indianexpress)<\/a> and stay updated with the latest headlines<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"appstext\">For all the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/section\/cities\/kolkata\/\">Kolkata News<\/a>, download <a class=\"click-event\" id=\"IE_app_download\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.page.link\/aeiu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Express App.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 The Indian Express (P) Ltd<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/kolkata\/at-kolkatas-battered-college-street-cyclone-snatched-even-books-from-us-6427861\/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by Santanu Chowdhury , Atri Mitra | Kolkata | Published: May 26, 2020 1:45:03 pm Publishers and Booksellers Guild estimates that books worth Rs 5 crore were destroyed in cyclone Amphan. PTI Hundreds of books damaged in last week\u2019s Cyclone Amphan pockmark the pavements and tram tracks in Kolkata\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kolkata"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/college-street-759.jpgw759.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}