BY TC News Desk
Agartala, March 23, 2023: Chief Minister Prof Dr Manik Saha will inaugurate the 41st Agartala Book Fair at the International Fair Ground premises in Hapania here.
Dr Saha will be accompanied by Bangladesh MP Pran Gopal Datta, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare minister Ratanlal Nath, Tourism minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Tribal Welfare minister Bikas Debbarma, AMC Mayor Dipak Majumder, MLA Ramprasad Paul and MLA Mina Rani Sarkar as honored guests.
Chief Secretary JK Sinha, ICA Secretary Dr Pradip Chakraborty will be present as a special guest and Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Agartala Arif Mohammad will also remain present.
This time the main idea of the 41st book fair is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. In total, 176 stalls will be opened book fair comprising of 13 minority language stalls. 82 stalls of state publishing houses, outside publishers and booksellers have 79 stalls. The number of stalls of publishers and booksellers of Bangladesh is 15. Apart from publishers and booksellers from Tripura, publishers and booksellers from Kolkata, Silchar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bangladesh will have stalls at the book fair.
The 13-day book fair will be open daily from 2.30 pm to 9 pm. Book fair will be open from 2 pm to 9 pm on holidays. 10 percent discount will be given by the book sellers for the buyers at the book fair.
Like the previous book fair, this year’s book fair will also be given various prizes. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Solidarity Award for Outstanding Contribution in Social Field will be presented. Dhirendra Krishna Memorial Award, Salil Krishna Memorial Award, Sachin Debbarman Memorial Award, Kalikingkar Debbarman Memorial Award, for outstanding contribution to painting, Bengali and Kakbarak literature, music, classical music, short stories published in Bengali and Kakbar, drama, and folk culture respectively. Bhishmadev Smriti Award and Lalan Award will be presented.
Various cultural programs are organized at the book fair every day from 6 pm. Apart from the artists from the state, artistes from eight states of North Eastern region including Sikkim and Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Bangladesh will participate in the cultural programme. Discussions, Book Releases, Poetry Conferences, Memoir Releases, Quiz Competitions etc. are also organized in the book fair. Free bus services have also been arranged from different parts of Agartala for the transportation of book lovers to the book fair.
