SILCHAR, Nov 14 - In a bid to encourage young readers, the Barak Book Fair 2015, which begins at the Bipin Pal ground here from November 15, has invited students from schools and colleges of Silchar to speak their minds on the various issues they witness every day.
�It is the young readers who should get a platform to speak and we have made arrangements for them to address the �bookaholics� in a competitive format during the seven-day fair,� said Taimur Raja Choudhury, district president of the Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskritik Sammelan which is organising the fair in association with the Publishers and Book Sellers Guild, Kolkata and Tripura Publishers Guild. Moreover, to maintain a healthy book-reader relationship, the participants will be given gift coupons to pick books of their choice from the stalls in the fair, Choudhury added. Bibhash Ranjan Choudhury, the coordinator for the speech competition informed that a maximum of two students from schools and three from colleges are eligible to take part in the event.
Gautam Prasad Dutta, central committee general secretary of the Sammelan because of the pathetic roads, publishers are facing difficulty to transport their materials. However, more than 40 publishing houses have already registered their names. The committee is expecting a participation of more than 60 publishers, including some from the Barak Valley, in the fair.
The book fair will be held in Karimganj from November 23 to November 27 and from November 29 to December 4 at Hailakandi.
