Ekushey Book Fair to end on April 12

The Ekushey Book Fair will end on April 12, said State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid on Saturday.

“As the government decided to enforce a weeklong strict lockdown across the country from April 14, such a decision has been made in line with the lockdown measures,” he said.

This year’s book fair started on March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduled to continue till April 14.

Earlier, the Ministry for Cultural Affairs changed the schedule of the fair and decided to continue the book fair from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, instead of the previous schedule of 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

At the same time, the ministry urged the public to follow health rules and not to engage in any unhygienic practices.

The coronavirus situation started worsening across the country despite the 7-day nationwide lockdown. The deaths and infections from the virus are on the rise in the country. As a result, the government will go for a strict lockdown from April 14 to curb the infection.

A total of 540 institutions have allotted stalls and pavilions at the Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan for this year’s fair.

ARR