The fair would go on till May 14 and the University has decided to sell the books online owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Vice Chancellor of the University K Balasubramanian. He added that those who are interested can get the facilities via the University website. 

The Tamil University used to organise book fairs during the Tamil New Year and on September 15, the university establishment day and thus last year, the sale during September 15 was Rs 19.20 lakh, which was considered to be a record. 

The book exhibition-cum-sale in view of Tamil New Year was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor in the presence of former director of university publications, Ramanathan. 

Speaking to reporters, Balasubramanian said, the University has been carrying forward special characteristics of the language, arts and culture to the masses. “We have been publishing books written by professors from the University as well as from the scholars across the world,” he said. 

In order to facilitate reading as well as owning the rare books, the University has been organising book fairs for twice a year at a discounted price, he said. This apart, with the state government fund of Rs 2 crore, as many as 20 books were re-printed and they are also made available in the stalls and the work of printing as many as 16 new books are in the final stages, the VC said.