The Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan are now abuzz with sounds of hammering woods and other materials for the construction of makeshift stalls and pavilions ahead of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela.

Though the publishers are about to complete their preparations for the Boi Mela, the Bangla Academy is yet to finalize the end date of the annual event.

The annual book fair, which usually begins on the first day of February, is going to miss its usual schedule for the second consecutive year as the fair will begin on February 15 following a suspension of two weeks amid a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

Academic and Creative Publishers Association of Bangladesh President Farid Ahmed has said they never had any lack of preparations to participate in the fair.

“We are ready to participate in the fair. We have already reviewed the proofs of books and selected covers. Most of the books have already been printed while some books are still in the press,” he said.

“We are now concentrating on design and decoration of stalls to attract readers,” he added.

Though the fair is less than a week away, Bangla Academy is yet to announce the duration of the fair. The academy’s director general poet Nurul Huda and director and member secretary of the fair organising committee Dr Jalal Ahmed were not available to comment on the issue.

An official of Bangla Academy said they are trying their best to ensure that health and safety guidelines are maintained strictly during the fair.

Asked about the impact of not having a closing date of the fair, Farid Ahmed, the owner of Somoy Prakashan, said, “We are taking preparation keeping February 28 as the end date in mind as Bangla Academy initially wanted to organise the fair from February 15 to 28.”

Publishers have been uncertain about the arrangement of the fair from the beginning. Although they applied for stalls, many did not pay in time.

Most of the publishers have feared a decrease in the sale of books in the upcoming fair while the printing press owners have claimed that they have got fewer works compared to previous years.

They said though books worth Tk 1 billion are sold every year during the book fair, this time it will come down to half, and it would be difficult to recover the loss that they incurred in the last two years.

Despite this uncertainty, the organisers have continued to build the infrastructure for the fair. Workers have been found busy in constructing stalls and pavilions at Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy premises.

Robin Ahsan, publisher of Shrabon Prokashani, said, “There are some publishers who will not bring many new books this year fearing that the duration of the book fair would be shorter this year. They are in a dilemma due to lack of clarity from Bangla Academy.”

Usually two months before the fair, publishers pass a very busy time in Banglabazar, Fakirapul, Kataban and Nilkhet, but this time this is not the case.

Abu Sayeed, deputy manager of Dhaka Printers at Shrish Das Lane in Bangla Bazar, has been involved in the printing industry for nearly two decades. He said, “During this time of every year, we used to work round the clock to meet the deadline of publishers. But this year the number of work orders has reduced alarmingly.”

“Some publishers have ready scripts in their hands but not booked the press as they are not interested in bringing many books for a two-week-long book fair,” Sayeed said, adding that if Bangla Academy announces a month-long book fair today, the pressure of work will be doubled tomorrow.

Still, the publishers, writers and other stakeholders are hopeful about the fair.

Noted author Swakrito Noman said, “We hope that the coronavirus situation will improve further in the upcoming weeks and readers will visit the fair in large numbers. The fair must be held as Amar Ekushey Boi Mela is an important part of the country’s tradition and culture.”