29th October, Agartala: The first preparatory meeting for the 45th Agartala Book Fair was held today at Muktadhara Auditorium in Agartala. Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Deputy Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly Ram Prasad Paul, Secretary of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department Kiran Gitte, Padma Shri awardee Arunoday Saha, West Tripura District Magistrate Dr. Vishal Kumar, Vice-Chairman of the State Cultural Advisory Committee Subrata Chakraborty, noted litterateur Nandakumar Debbarma, and Director Bimbisar Bhattacharya were present at the meeting.
Publishers, booksellers and officials of the Book Fair Committee exchanged views during the meeting. In his welcome address, Department Director Bimbisar Bhattacharya presented various details about the book fairs held over the past four years.
The meeting saw support for organising the book fair in early January. In his address, Minister Pranajit Singha Roy proposed January 4 to 16 as the tentative dates for the fair. He also called for proposals to be submitted after deciding suitable dates for organising book fairs in different districts.
The possibility of dedicating the theme of the fair to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary was also discussed. The minister said the matter would be discussed further. He also stated that attention would be given to controlling noise pollution during the fair and ensuring that no other fairs were held in Agartala during the same period.
No final decisions were taken at today’s meeting. Decisions regarding the dates and other related arrangements will be made at the next meeting.
