STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The most awaited Northeast book fair gears up for its 21st edition which will witness the gracious presence of Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu as the Chief guest and inaugurator. The Governor of Assam Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Director of National Book Trust Neera Jain, former MP Ramen Deka and also former president of Assam Sahitya Sabha Dr. Dhrubajyoti Borah will also be present in the inaugural function of 21st edition of North East book fair that will start from November 1 till November 12.
Addressing a press conference here at Guwahati Press Club on Saturday, the All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association (AAPBSA) informed the media about its schedule and that the Lai Khuta, for its 21st edition, will be erected on October 21 in the Assam Engineering Institute (AEI) playground. President Imran Ahmed said that the book fair will be held from November 1 onwards till November 12 in AEI playground.
A total of 225 stalls will be there, where a total of 75 organizations from different parts of Assam will take part. The other places that will take part in the fair include Bangladesh, New Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Dehradun, Kalkata etc. The publications to take part in the fair include Penguin Random House, MCgraw punlications, Oxford University Press and the Hindu Group etc. The 21st edition of North East book fair will be dedicated to educationist Tabu Ram Taid. The main stage will be dedicated in the memory of GL Agarwal and Benu Mishra. The Cultural night will be dedicated to Purnobrata Devgoswami and Chandra Choudhury. The other programmes including Mahilar Din, Shishur Din and some other special programme will be dedicated to Purabi Barmudoi, Pramod Chandra Bhattacharya, Manik Bora, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, and Dr. Dilip Kumar Dutta. The students will have free entry to the book fair. Besides this, AAPBSA will specially felicitate those buying books above Rs 10,000.