The organising committee of the forthcoming Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025 faces various challenges at the preparation level, said its member secretary Sarkar Amin on Tuesday.
Publishers鈥� demand for reduced rents for stalls and a review of the decision about allocating pavilions, pressure from vested interests to allocate stalls and other issues are posing challenges to organising a participatory book fair, added Sarkar Amin.聽
He also said that a general meeting of the organising committee was scheduled for Wednesday evening to discuss these issues.聽聽聽聽聽
One of the insiders of the committee, preferring not to be named, said that this edition of the book fair would eliminate pavilions and allocate stalls to all to end discrimination and stalls would be selected through a lottery.
鈥榃e face pressure from vested interests to allocate stalls. A central leader of a political party took responsibility to verify the applications from his party,鈥� he said, mentioning that the number of stalls will be increased.
鈥業f the committee eliminated pavilions, the academy will lose approximately Tk 40 lakh but the committee still keeps focus on organising a participatory book fair,鈥� said Sarkar Amin.聽
The preparations for making stalls have started at Suhrawardy Udyan and on the Bangla Academy premises but the public works department of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works allotted Suhrawardy Udyan to Islami Jubo Andolan Bangladesh for January 17, confirmed Sarker Amin.
鈥業 have come to know that the authorities also allotted the venue for a teachers鈥� council on January 20 but publishers will start preparing their stalls on January 18 after the lottery,鈥� he added.
On Tuesday morning, Publishers under the banner of Srijanshil Prokashak Samity organised a human chain in the front of the National Press Club demanding 50 per cent reduction in the stall rent. They also delivered a letter to the Bangla Academy director general with the demands, including the cancellation of allocations of some publishers who used political influence to gain excessive privileges from the previous fascist government.聽
Bangla Academy director general Mohammad Azam said that rent of the stalls had been still the same over the past five years, and if the government allotted a subsidiary then the academy could reduce stall rents.
鈥榃e are not interested in cancelling any allocation of the stalls. I will officially contact with the public works department about allocation of the Suhrawardy Udyan for January 20,鈥� said Mohammad Azam.
