The month-long ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2023’ begins on the premises of the Bangla Academy and the Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital today.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is  scheduled  to open the book fair on February 1 at 3 pm,”  Bangla Academy director general poet Mohammad Nurul Huda told a press conference at Bangla Academy on Monday.

The theme of this year’s book fair is “Paro Boi, Garo Desh: Bangabandhur Bangladesh (Read Book build country: Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh) and the Bangla Academy is organizing the fair.

President Md Abdul Hamid yesterday issued a message on the occasion of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2023 and all its programmes wishing the fair a grand success.

In his message, the President said the Amar Ekushey Book Fair is an integral part of Bangalee culture.

The head of the state extended his greetings to all concerned including the Bangalee book-lovers, readers, publishers and organizers.

On the eve of the Book Fair, he paid his deepest respect to the memory of the immortal martyrs of the Great Language Movement.

The ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’ has taken its position in the hearts of all Bangalees, he said, adding that every year, in the month of February, the book fair organized by Bangla Academy, creates a unique awakening among people from all walks of life including writers, readers and cultural activists.

He also said that the fair is one of the main events and sources in the development of education, culture and history of the country.

“There is no alternative to reading books in building a knowledge-based society,” he added.

The president hoped that the ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’ will uphold the Banga language, culture, history and its tradition by keeping the spirit of the great language movement alive.

The book fair will remain open for all from 3 pm to 9 pm on working days and 11:00 am to 9 pm on public holidays with a one-hour break for lunch and prayers.

A total of 901 stalls have been allocated to 601 organizations. The authorities have allotted 165 stalls to 112 organizations for the Bangla Academy ground and 736 stalls to 489 organizations for the Suhrawardy Udyan.

Moreover, a total of 38 pavilions have been allocated this year.

Last year, a total of 774 stalls were allocated in favour of 534 organizations. Apart from this, there will be 153 stalls at Little Magazine Chattar, which were 127 in 2022, 140 in 2021 and 155 in 2020.

There will be strict security arrangements in and around the book fair venue to avert any unpleasant incident and every nook and cranny of the 1.1 million square feet space of the fair venue will be under CCTV camera coverage.