PATNA: CM Nitish Kumar on Friday said that the government would extend all possible help for organising international book fair here.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 18th Patna Book Fair here at Gandhi Maidan, the chief minister said, “In view of huge response to the fair, an international book fair is needed, which will cater to the needs of book lovers.”
“A large number of people in Bihar are avid readers. Their number has witnessed a significant growth,” he said. The CM assured all possible fi-nancial help to the organising committee for organising international book fair in Patna.
The fair organising committee announced that it would give away awards for journalism, literature and theatre on December 19. Surendra Pratap Patrakarita Puraskar will go to photo-journalist Amrit Jai Kishan. Hare Prakash Upadhyay will be given Vidyapati Sahitya Puraskar for litra-ture and Bijendra Kumar Tak will be awarded Bhikhari Thakur Rang-karma Puraskar for theatre.
The book fair has `Right to Education: Special focus on underprivi-leged children and girl child’ as its theme, in association with Unicef.
The 12-day fair, organised by the Centre for Readership Development (CRD), has international, national and regional publishers exhibiting their books. Spread over an area of two lakh square feet, the fair would have about 670 book stalls from about 250 publishers, besides representation from coaching institutes, corporates and NGOs. Several eatery joints have also been erected inside the book fair premises.
About 50% book stalls were opened on Friday. A discount of 10% would be given on all books. Special sitting arrangements have been made for senior citizens. For security, private security personnel have been de-ployed along with Patna police. A map of all the stalls inside the book fair premises has been put up at the entrance. To ensure that dust does not mar the enthusiasm of book lovers, the fair authorities have made arrangement of regular water spray.
The fair will be open from 11.30 am to 8 pm on weekdays and from 11 am to 9 pm on weekends. School children will be allowed free entry to the book fair. College students can also enjoy free entry on producing their identity cards. An entry fee of Rs 5 will be charged from other visitors. The CM also released a book on Bihar’s culture and heritage by Subodh Kumar Nandan on this occasion.
Read more: Patna Book Fair takes off – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Patna-Book-Fair-takes-off/articleshow/7080599.cms#ixzz17pzyxeYA