Punjab University: Extreme heat cools interest in book fair

LAHORE:

The extreme heat kept visitor numbers down on the opening day of the Punjab University book fair on Thursday, though sellers said they expected more students on the next two days to take advantage of big discounts.

“Due to the heat people are leaving halfway through. Not many people are buying books,” said Muqsit, the marketing manager for bookstore Readings. Over 150 stalls had been set up on the first day.

“People are looking at titles but not buying. Maybe because it’s the first day,” said Safdar Ali of Nooriya Rizvi Publications. “The next two days should be better.”

“I wish they had put this on in the winter,” said Tajawar Saeed, a computer sciences student. He also complained that there were far more books on religion than any other subject.

Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Mujahid Kamran inaugurated the event, where buyers can get discounts of up to 50 per cent. He said he hoped that it would promote the reading culture amongst students.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2011.