Preparations for the book fair are going on with extra workers at the last moment
The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair is going to start from February 1 this year like every year with the theme of 'Read friends, build country, Bangabandhu's Bangladesh'. Only two days left for the start of the fair. Last minute decoration work is going on non-stop due to the short time on hand.
On Monday (December 29), going to the book fair premises, it can be seen that the workers are busy in the construction and decoration of the stalls of various publications in both parts of Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy. While the infrastructure of most stalls is ready, last minute decoration work is going on in each stall.
Talking to the workers engaged in the construction and decoration of the stalls at the book fair, it is known that they have less time to construct the stalls than other years. They are working non-stop with additional workers to complete the work on time.
Matiur Rahman Sheikh, who came from Gopalganj to decorate stalls at the book fair, told Barta24.com that he is not allowed to work after February 1 which should be done within 31 days. In every stall, everyone is working with more people, so that the work can be completed on time. We are working day and night without any breaks; we will finish the work on time Insha-Allah.
The sound of hammers and nails echoed across the fairgrounds. According to Motiur, 6 to 8 workers were seen working in each stall of the fair premises. No one is sitting. Some are cutting wood according to size, some are making wooden structures. Some are painting stall furniture and some are working on electrical connections. Despite all the hard work, every worker has a smile on his face. This is because they like to work at book fairs. In their words, not only for money, money can also be found by working elsewhere. But the joy of working here comes from within.
After talking to the workers, he went around the fairgrounds and talked to Sharifa Bulbul, the publisher of 'Balaka Prakashan'. Mentioning that the book fair of 2024 will be much more crowded than other times, she said about the preparation of stalls in the fair, it would have been better to have a little more time. Although it is difficult, I hope I can finish the work on time because we are all working together day and night. This pain will no longer be a pain if we get the desired response from the readers. Other times due to illness and other reasons the response was not that good but this time everything is fine. Therefore, she expressed hope that the attendance of the readers will also be good this time.
According to a source of Bangla Academy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the month-long book fair on February 1 at 3 pm. In the opening ceremony of the book fair, Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain will preside over the inaugural function while the welcome address will be delivered by Academy Director General Muhammad Md. Nurul Huda. Bangla Academy Literary Award-2023 will be given on this occasion.
It should be noted that since 2024 is a leap year, this year's book fair is going to be 29 days long which is good for all book lovers, authors and publishers.