NGOs appeal for Green Book Fair in Chennai

CHENNAI: Two NGOs -- Mazhai Mann Maram Manudam and Cukkoo Kulandhaigal Veli-- working in the field of environmental-related issues in the state, have appealed to the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) to hold this year’s book fair as a Green Book Fair.Talking to City Express, Ramesh Karuppaiya, representative from Mazhai Mann Maram Manudam, one of the two NGOs that has sent out the appeal to the organisers, said, “BAPASI can become a role model for organisers of such mega book fairs in the state as well as in the country by initiating the green concept at exhibitions.” BAPASI organises the annual Chennai Book Fair in the first week of January every year in the city and more than six lakh people from the state as well as from different parts of the country visit the hundreds of stalls put up by reputed publishers.“For every single purchase, the stall owners give plastic carry bags and we estimate that during the period of the fair, BAPASI ends up distributing more than seven lakh plastic carry bags to the buyers,” Ramesh said.“If BAPASI replaces the lakhs of plastic bags (that are to be distributed free) with cloth bags, it will positively impact the environment and send the right message to all book lovers and environmental activists,” Ramesh added.“Through the Green Book Fair concept, the seed of protecting our environment will be sown among the  people who visit the fair in search of knowledge. Further, the sown seed will surely grow healthily in turn to spread the seeds of awareness to other exhibitors too,” he further said.As cloth bags are expensive and therefore cannot be distributed for free, both the NGOs have come up with a new idea.“The book sellers can compensate the expense incurred by giving out free cloth bags with the money they save by getting rid of the 10 percent discount they generally give to customers.”