The Fair Management Committee has completed taking all necessary preparations, including allocating stalls and ensuring stern security measurers to avert any untoward incident.

Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government Fakhruddin Ahmed is expected to inaugurate the fair at around 2:30pm, said Moinul Hasan, acting director general of Bangla Academy, at a press conference yesterday.

The chief adviser is also expected to inaugurate a monument of Language Movement named "Moder Garab" (Our Pride) containing busts of five language martyrs -- Rafiq, Salam, Jabbar, Barkat and Shafiur.

The monument, a work of artist Md Mafidul Alam Khan, is placed on the fair premises.

Amar Ekushey or "Immortal February 21" commemorates the Language Movement of 1952. On this day, our language martyrs Rafiq, Salam, Jabbar, Barkat and Shafiur sacrificed their lives to establish the rights to our so loved mother tongue, Bangla.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) declared the Day as International Mother Language Day in 1997 and since then the whole world observes the day with utmost solemnity.

This year a total of 400 stalls will be allotted among 255 publication houses and some voluntary, government and non-government organisations like Red Crescent, fire brigade and blood donation centres.

Last year, the number of stalls was 470. This year authorities lessened the number of stalls to provide the visitors more space to roam around on the premises, said Moinul Hasan.

A number of owners of publication houses, who did not get any stalls, expressed their dissatisfaction over the issue, since they used to get stalls in the previous years.

All books, including those published by Bangla Academy, will be sold at 30 per cent discount in the fair.

Bangla Academy will publish or reprint 37 books on various issues in the fair that has an allotted budget of Tk 29 lakh.

Sixteen close-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras would be set up at different points of the Academy premises. Apart from deployment of regular law-enforcing agencies, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and intelligence branches members will be deployed at the fair venue.

The fair venue has been divided into five chatttars (parts) that have been named Salam, Rafiq, Jabbar, Barkat and Shafiur Chattar.

The fair was named Amar Ekushey Book Fair in 1984 and the Bangla Academy has been organising it over the last three decades.

Seminars, symposiums and cultural functions will be held everyday at the academy stage where eminent litterateurs and academicians will take part.

The fair will remain open for all from 3:00pm to 9:00pm everyday. However, on Fridays, the fair will remain open from 11:00am with two-hour break from 12:00noon.

On February 21, the fair will continue from 8:00am to 9:00 pm without any break.

The fair venue will be a non-smoking and polythene-free zone.

When asked about continuous violation of fair rules and regulations by participant publication houses, Moinul Hasan said authorities will take necessary initiatives to ensure that publication houses do follow the rules and regulations of the fair that prohibit selling pirated books and books of other publications.

"We are going to take severe actions against those who will flout rules and regulations", said Moinul.

Member Secretary of Amar Ekushey Book Fair Management Committee Fazlur Rahim, director (institutional planning and training department) and Murshiduddin Ahmad Anwar, assistant director of Bangla Academy, were present at the press conference.