Fair to remain open from 8am to 9pm on February 21
The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2014 is set to begin Saturday at the premises of Bangla Academy and at Suhrawardy Udyan in a new form this year.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the fair at 3pm and Cultural Affairs Minister Assaduzzaman Noor is likely to speak at the same programme.
Bangla Academy officials, also the organisers of the book fair, have assured beefing up security following the fair.
Answering to a question on security measurements, the director general of the academy, Shamuzzaman Khan, said: “We may not be completely successful, but we will try our best to maintain law and order.”
Echoing Shamsuzzaman, academy secretary Altaf Hossain also assured that security measures on the fair premises would be heightened.
He emphasised the organisers providing necessary sanitation and drinking water facilities to the visitors.
The book fair will run from 3pm to 9pm every working day and from 11am to 9pm on holidays. On February 21 the fair will remain open between 8am and 9pm.
The date for Shishu Prahar (Children’s Hour) would be announced soon, the fair’s organising committee member secretary Shahida Khatun said durign a press conference on Saturday.
The academy will provide a 30% discount, with other publishers providing 25%, on the prices of books. The fair will offer Wi-fi facilities.
While journalists pointed out the BNP’s scheduled rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday, Academy Director General Shamuzzaman called upon all political parties to refrain from inciting any disturbances at the fairgrounds.
According to the organizers, 534 units of stalls for 232 publishing houses were allotted at Suhrawardy Udyan while 33 units of stalls for 24 children and juvenile literature publishing houses, and 69 units of stall for 43 others were allotted in the academy premises.
55 little-magazine publishing houses were also given a corner inside the academy premises, devoted to late poet Khondokar Ashraf Hossain, vice-chancellor of Jatiya Kabi Nazrul Islam University in Mymensingh and former Dhaka University professor, the officials added.
A total of 274 institutions were accommodated in the academy premises, last year. Allotting that many stalls in the academy premises drew criticism since it was not open enough, resulting a dusty atmosphere because of the heavy traffic of book lovers and readers, last year.
Later on January 20, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor approved the proposal of having the fairgrounds extended to include Suhrawardy Udyan.
According to Bangla Academy officials, this year a total of 299 publishing houses, both government and non-government, and socio-cultural organisations are participating in the fair.
The academy, however, had failed to allot stalls among the participators by January 23 breaching the Section 12.3 of the Amar Ekushey Granthamela 2014: Rules and Regulations.
Shamuzzaman said the publishers could not be allotted in due time because of the decision of extending fair ground to Suhrawardy Udyan was belated.
The fair first began in 1972 on the academy premises in an impromptu form. The fair was later institutionalised in 1978. In 1984, the fair was named Amar Ekushey Granthamela.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
