As Friday was the first holiday since the Amar Ekushey Book Fair launched, a huge crowd of all ages were seen visiting the fair with enthusiasm.
Despite the risk of Covid-19, the fair attracted a lot of visitors compared to last year, making it difficult for many to enter the fair premises.
However, the law enforcers and volunteers have been seen trying to ensure health guidelines by providing hand sanitizers, forcing people to wear masks and measuring the temperature individually every day since the fair began on February 15.
Visiting the fair with his wife, private job holder Kamal Ahmed said: “When the Covid-19 cases were rising last year, we were afraid to visit the fair. But this year, we came because both of us are now vaccinated.”
Another visitor Aleja Akter observed that the stall layout plan was not convenient for the people this year.
Nazma Ahmed, coordinator of the information booth at Suhrawardy Udyan, mentioned that the crowd had increased since the people were not scared of the Covid anymore.
Menila Rahman, salesperson of Anwesha Publication, said: “We have noticed that young readers are not only interested in science fiction books written by Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and Humayun Ahmed, but they are also coming to purchase books by new writers.”
Another salesman Sayemon Ahmed expressed concerns over the fact that most people were coming just to visit the fair. “Turning the visitors into buyers is a challenging job for us.”
This year, the government has decided to run the fair for only 13 days till February 28 due to the spread of Covid pandemic. But the publishers hoped that the government would extend the timeline.
Habibur Rahman Rubel, the publisher of Genius Publications, said: “If the government doesn’t extend the time, we will face a huge loss again like last year. But for now, we are hopeful about this year’s profit.”
Publisher of Mowla Brothers Ahmed Mahmudul Haque said: “This book fair is not only about selling books and making a profit, but it’s also about a great platform for the advertisement of our books. We only get this opportunity once a year.”
“On the other hand, we didn’t get any time to prepare our stalls and pavilions as we were informed earlier that the book fair won’t be held this time.”
While inaugurating the fair, the prime minister said the duration of the fair should be extended to one month. “As we started the fair behind schedule this time, February 15, I think we can continue it for a full month,” Sheikh Hasina said.
She directed the authorities concerned to consider how much they could do in this regard.