Decks are ready for the book lovers of Tripura. The 41st Agartala Book Fair will start at the Hapania International Fair Ground in Agartala on Friday (March 23).
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, in presence of dignitaries, will inaugurate the 13-day long Book Fair tomorrow evening. The main theme of the Book Fair is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – ‘The world is one family’.
There are total 176 stalls out of which 82 stalls were allocated to the publishing houses and booksellers of the State while 79 stalls were given to the publishing houses and Booksellers of other States.
Besides, there are 15 stalls for the publishing houses and booksellers of Bangladesh and 13 stalls for books on the languages of the minority communities.
Apart from Tripura, publishing houses and booksellers of Kolkata, Silchar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bangladesh are participating in the Fair.
The 13-day long Book Fair shall remain open for the public every day from 2.30 pm to 9 pm while on holidays, the fair will start from 2 pm and continue till 9 pm. The buyers will get a 10 per cent discount.
The Book fair is a big attraction for book lovers. Even as online reading – mostly free – is gaining momentum, ‘real’ books are still popular among avid readers.
Among others, MP of Bangladesh Pran Gopal Datta, State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath, Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Janajati Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, AMC mayor Dipak Majumder, MLAs – Ramprasad Pal and Mina Rani Sarkar. Besides, Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission Arif Muhammad, Chief secretary JK Sinha and secretary of the Information and Cultural Affairs department Dr PK Chakraborty will also remain present in the inaugural programme.