Devastating Floods Destroy Over 5,000 Books at Bangalore Bookstore

A renowned independent bookstore in Bangalore, India has suffered a major crisis after heavy rains caused sudden flooding, destroying thousands of books in a single night. The incident shocked the book-loving community deeply.

The Bookworm, located on Church Street, shared images of the disaster on Instagram showing countless books floating in water inside the store, while hail covered the ground outside, reflecting the severity of the weather that day.

The store reported losing between 4,000 and 5,000 books, with newly restocked inventory suffering the heaviest damage. Store owner Krishna revealed that this occurred during a critical period as the store had just prepared stock for the holiday season, typically their busiest time. Instead, they faced an unexpected catastrophe.

However, the store remains resilient. They plan to dry some books in the sun and sell them at steep discounts, though many others are too severely damaged to be salvaged and must be discarded. Krishna also noted that modern printing trends worsened the damage, as many publishers now use low-quality recycled paper that cannot withstand water. Even illustrated comics like Asterix and Obelix, printed on oil-coated paper, could not survive the flooding.

The incident quickly sparked an outpouring of sympathy online. Many people expressed their condolences and offered help, with numerous voices calling for the reading community to support the store by purchasing damaged books to help it weather this crisis.

Some comments referenced a similar event in Kolkata on College Street, where a "Wet Book Fair" was held to sell water-damaged books and was overwhelmingly successful, inspiring similar relief efforts here.

Many supporters stated they were ready to purchase books even in damaged or water-stained condition because they wanted to participate in helping revive this bookstore, which serves as an important space for thousands of readers.