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Letters to the Editor

Saving publishing industry

August 05, 2021 00:00:00


Book publishers in Bangladesh have been fighting a difficult battle to survive for over a year now. Coronavirus-induced restrictions have cut down the sales of publishing houses by over 70 per cent, and many of them are now facing existential crisis.

The publishing industry of our country is directly linked to our schools, college, and other educational institutions. As all the educational institutions have been kept closed since March 2020, and no examination is being taken, we cannot expect students to buy their academic books. The students, who are the main purchasers of books, now hardly buy books of any kind. This trend has been behind the fall in the sale of all categories of books to less than one-third of the usual times. Last year's Amar EkusheyBoi Mela, a peak sales period for publishers of creative books, could not help the publishing houses much mainly due to low turnouts. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, academic or others, book publishers have been incurring losses everywhere. In this situation, many workers, including the skilled ones, involved in the printing and publishing industry have lost their jobs, while many small publishing houses have already stopped their production.

So, we urge the authorities concerned to take effective initiatives so that the ailing publishing industry can survive the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It would be a great help if the government funds in the form of stimulus packages or easy loans are made available for all publishing and printing firms.

Abdul Washi Tarafder,

Student of North South University, Dhaka,

[email protected]


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