Cultural events failed to attract wide audiences to their programmes at the ongoing month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Thursday due to alleged mismanagement.
On the sixth day of the annual event, the number of new titles decreased slightly but the number of visitors increased.
Organised by Bangla Academy, the fair features cultural events every day on the main stage on the academy premises and on the Lekhok Bolchi stage at Suhrawardy Udyan.
On the main stage, a discussion and a cultural performance comprising songs, poetry recitations are held.
Preferring not to be named, a worker of the main stage said that only 10 to 20 people gathered at the discussion.
There were no banners or any printing materials publishing the schedule at the venue.
Mahbuba Rahman, in charge of the programme of the fair committee, said that they announced the programme details over the microphone on the fair premises but no leaflets or banners on the programme had been made yet.
鈥榃e will take steps to attract audiences to the programmes,鈥� Mahbuba said. 聽
The Lekhok Bolchi stage at Suhrawardy Udyan comprising talks of two authors every day also drew a thin audience. 聽
鈥榃e cannot confirm the programme schedule as most authors avoid early days of the fair,鈥� said Shahed Montaz, in-charge of the Lekhok Bolchi stage at the fair.
On Thursday, Tokon Tagor and Jakir Abu Jafor attended the event held on the stage.聽
On the sixth day of the fair, a programme commemorating researcher and linguist Mahbubul Haque was held on the main stage of the fair.
Chaired by Morshed Sofiul Hasan, a commemorative discussion on Ghulam Murshid will be held on the main stage on Friday where Samzir Ahmed will present the keynote paper and Swarochish Sarkar and Gazi Md Mahbub Murshid will speak.
A total of 80 new titles were published on Thursday, raising the total number of books published in the fair to 225 so far, according to academy officials.
Out of 80 books, 22 were collections of poems and 13 were novels while 11were collections of short stories.聽
Today the fair will be open at 11:00am.
