BHUBANESAWAR: The 28th edition of Bhubaneswar Book Fair at the Exhibition Ground here is drawing book-lovers and keen readers in droves. Sunday being a holiday, the footfalls increased substantially. Many youths were seen spoilt for choice. While there was more demand for books and CDs related to Computer and Information Technology, a niche section was browsing through philosophy books. There were also a number of youths buying dictionaries and thesauri while general knowledge books were the top draw for schoolchildren. Over 150 publishers and booksellers have put up stalls. There are also stalls on computer software, career choice, acupressure, vastu and feng shui and old books. The organisers said the fair had done a business worth around ` 1 crore since it got underway on February 11. Organising committee member Ashok Mohanty informed that a day before the closing ceremony on February 22, a felicitation ceremony will be held at the fair by the Akhila Bharatiya Odia Sahitya Parishad. Those who will be felicitated are Debashish Patra, Murari Mohan Das, Hemant Kumar Chotray, Elora Mishra, Bijayani Das, Ashok Parida, Sarat Chandra Pradhan, Bijay Pradhan and Pabitra Mohan Das. He hoped sale of books would touch ` 1.5 to 2-crore mark this time. Publishers from New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Karnataka and Pune are participating. Earlier inaugurating the fair, Chief Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, Satyananda Mishra had said the fair would cater to the needs of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack denizens who are avid readers. He had also released books like ‘Khola Bichar’, penned by Barendra Dhal, ‘Sahitya Samagra’ by Bhubaneswar Behera, ‘Gopi Pasara’ by Gopi Krushna Behera and a collection of short stories ‘Prema’ by Chandra Sekhar Verma.
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