PM to inaugurate book fair, give Ekushey Padak on Feb 26.

The inauguration of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair and the Ekushey Padak award ceremony will be held simultaneously on February 26. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will present the Ekushey Padak in the morning and later inaugurate the book fair at the Bangla Academy premises in the afternoon.

On Saturday (February 21), Minister of Culture Nitai Roy Chowdhury informed reporters about this.

The Culture Minister said that in a morning event in the capital on February 26, the Prime Minister will hand over the Ekushey Padak to distinguished individuals in recognition of their significant contributions in various fields. Later in the afternoon, he will attend the official inauguration of the book fair at the Bangla Academy premises as the chief guest and formally announce the opening of the fair.

Officials have stated that the necessary preparations for both events have already been completed.

It has also been reported that the government has fully waived stall fees for publishing houses participating in this year’s book fair.

Meanwhile, citing lack of transparency in stall and pavilion allocation and short notice, the country’s publishers’ organization, Prokashok Oikko, has announced that it will not participate in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair. The organization released a statement regarding this decision on Saturday.