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Ekushey Boi Mela begins today

Staff Correspondent
Ending a yearlong wait, booklovers of all ages are ready to a make beeline for the Bangla Academy premises throughout this February as the month-long Amar Ekushey BoiMela2012 begins today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the fair, one of the biggest national events, around 3:00pm. As the guest of honour, William Radice, a British poet as well as aTagore researcher, will grace the inaugural session.
The academy has been organising the annual event since 1984 to commemorate the martyrs of the Language Movement of1952.
Apart from 37 new books from the academy, around 4,000 titles from other publishers are expected to hit the fair this year as an attraction for the readers, publishers, booksellers, media personnel, authors, cultural activists, and celebrities.
After declaring the fair open, Prime Minister Hasina will visit several bookstalls and also inaugurate Bangla
Academy Bhaban, the academy officials saidyesterday.
The opening sessions will be broadcast live on BTV and Bangladesh Betar.
Bangla Academy Director General Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan said all preparations for the fair were complete.
A total of 630 units (space for stalls) have been distributed among425 institutions. Alongside the publication houses, several voluntary organisations, government and non-government organisations and media houses will participate in the fair.
Nine corners of the fair have been dedicated in the names of noted litterateurs, language movement martyrs, poets and intellectuals while a comer has been dedicated to children, said Murshiduddin Ahmed, deputy director of the academy.
The fair will keep open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm everyday. On holidays, it will be open between 11:00am and 9:00pm. The fair will open at 8:00am and continue till 9:00pm on February 21, the International
Mother Language Day.
Everyday, a seminar will be held on the language movement and the Liberation War. In addition, cultural eventswill mark the winter evenings throughout the month on the academy premises.
Apart from sponsor's expenditure, the Bangla Academy has budgeted around Tk 40 lakh for this year's fair, said Deputy Director Murshiduddin.
One of the publishers participating in the fair will be awarded the Chittaranjan Saha Smrity Purashkar for best book in terms of quality in 2011 while three publishers who will bring out the maximum number of quality books in the fair will receive Munier Chowdhury Smrity Purashkar.
Surveillance cameras and security arches will be set up at the two entry points while police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), and intelligence agencies and members of Bangla Academy's security unit will be in place to ensure security.