The month-long Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2015 begins on Bangla Academy premises and in a portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan in the capital today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the fair at 3:00pm. The “Bangla Academy Sahitya Award” 2014 will be given at the inaugural ceremony where Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan will be present.
The fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm every day except holidays. Meanwhile, it will remain open from 8:00am to 9:00pm on February 21, the International Mother Language Day.
Speaking at a press conference at the Bangla Academy yesterday, Shamsuzzaman Khan said “This is, perhaps, the world longest book fair.”
This year, more spaces have been allocated for publishers to set up their stalls at the fair. The whole premises—both the Bangla Academy and the portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan— of the fair have been decorated in an artistic manner, he said.
According to organisers 351 institutions are will set up their stalls at the fair. Of them, 92 institutions will set up stalls on the Bangla Academy premises, while 259 institutions in the portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan.
However, there will be 11 pavilions for 11 publication houses, they said.
Law enforcers will be deployed in a three-layered security net in and around the fair ground. Some 75 close circuit cameras have installed to ensure security, they added.
Cultural Affairs Secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Biswas, member secretary of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela Preparation Committee Dr Jalal Uddin, and Bangla Academy Secretary Altaf Hossain, among others, spoke at the press conference.
International Literary Conference
On the occasion of the fair, Bangla Academy will organise a 4-day long International Literary Conference (ILC). The first international literary conference was held in 1974.
Some 38 famous writers, poets, critics from 11 countries will attend the conference beginning from today and will continue until February 4.
Writers and poets will come from France, Ecuador, USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Malaysia, India.