AGARTALA, April 1 - For the first time in the 36th year of Agartala Book Fair, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya national integration award will be awarded for outstanding contribution in the field of social service.
Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya, who pioneered the concept of integral humanism in the country will be recalled on the occasion of the State�s biggest literary festival by awarding a person who did excellent in the field of social service, said Dy CM Jishnu Dev Varman.
The 12-day Book Fair will be inaugurated by Governor Tathagata Roy in presence of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday.
�Tripura has a long tradition of unity in diversity even if it is a small State having a population of around 37 lakh. The State is home to 19 indigenous tribes, Bengali and Santhal communities. So, we have to protect the tradition of unity in diversity�, he said.
One more new award in the name of Kalikinkar Debbarma, an eminent lyricist of the State will also be given for outstanding contribution in the field of classical music, the Dy CM said.
Dev Varman also stressed on involvement of young generation in the book fair. �Today�s young are familiar with online kind of things � ebook but it is a different taste of reading a printed book�. Its smell is unmatchable�. So we all must try to involve young boys and girls in the book fair�, he said.
Dev Varman said the State Government wanted to give a new look to the Agartala Book Fair but could not due to shortage of time.
The Dy Chief Minister said there will be 124 stalls in the fair with 39 allocated to publishers from Kolkata and five stalls for Guwahati based publishers. Ten per cent discount will be offered by publishers to book lovers.
