Ekushey book fair to begin on Feb 2

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File photo

DHAKA, Jan 20, 2020 (BSS) – The month-long “Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2020”, the country’s largest book fair, will begin on February 2 instead of February 1 due to Dhaka north and south city corporations election.

Bangla Academy took the decision as the Election Commission (EC) rescheduled the date of the elections to February 1 from January 30, which coincided with Saraswati Puja, Bangla Academy director Jalal Ahmed told BSS.

“Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2020 will be dedicated to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marking the Mujib Borsho,” said Jalal Ahmed who is also the Member Secretary of Grantha Mela 2020 Organizing Committee.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the book fair, he added.

Preparations for the book fair are going on in full-swing on Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan premises.

Visiting the locations, this reporter found labourers busy in constructing structures for the book stalls in Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan.

A record number of 499 publishers participated in the book fair in 2019. The total number of publishers was 460 in 2018 while the numbers were 401 and 353 in the years 2017 and 2016 respectively, according to Bangla Academy.

The book fair was first held informally on Bangla Academy premises in 1972. In 1978, the academy officially took the responsibility of organising the fair every year. It was named ‘Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela’ in 1984 and a guideline was also formulated in the same year for the fair.

Bangla Academy authorities extended the fair venue to Suhrawardy Udyan in 2013 in a bid to accommodate more publishers and book lovers.