DOT Desk : [2] This year’s Amar Ekushey Book Fair has been deferred following recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases and deaths across the country, reports TBS.
[3] “The latest edition of Amar Ekushey Book Fair will not begin on 1 February. It has been postponed for at least two weeks due to Covid-19.
[4] “We are yet to finalise a new date for the fair. An announcement in this regard will be made soon,” Faisal Hasan, senior information officer of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs told The Business Standard on Sunday. Last year, the month-long fair, which usually begins on 1 February, was also postponed to avoid the risks of coronavirus infections. Later, the fair began on 18 March at the Bangla Academy premises and the adjacent venue at the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan.
[5] The book fair is arranged every year in February commemorating the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives on 21 February 1952 for establishing Bangla as the mother tongue.
The traditional Amar Ekushey Book Fair began informally in 1972 at the Bangla Academy premises.
However, the academy officially took the responsibility to arrange the fair regularly — every year since 1978.
It was then named “Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela” and a guideline was laid out in this regard in 1984.