Barak Boi Mela on the move despite all odds

Silchar: Barak Boi Mela (Book Fair) organized by Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan (BUBSOSS), Cachar district committee was formally inaugurated by Minister for Forests, Fisheries and Excise, Parimal Suklabaidya on Friday evening at Bipin Chandra Paul meeting ground at Circuit House road of this town. Fewer footfalls in book fairs are not new phenomena. This has become a matter of serious concerns. Now-a-days, only a handful of people read books. Visiting book fairs have become a thing of the remote past. Despite all odds, the Committee has been organizing this fair since long. The organizers are facing a lot of problems which needs to be resolved at the earliest.

The president of the district committee of BUBSOSS in his welcome address threw light upon the barriers and hurdles which they had to pass in order to make this fair happen. He also presided over the inauguration programme. He expressed his gratitude towards Parimal Suklabaidya who extended his helping hand in making the field fit for organizing the book fair. He also thanked Silchar Municipal Board for helping them with the field. It is pertinent to mention here that the publishers and booksellers’ guild even refused to take the burden of transporting books primarily from Kolkata to Silchar.

Taimur Raja Choudhury told the audience at the inauguration programme that the Committee had to bear an additional burden of around Rs.70000. He added to say that the efforts of the Committee will only be successful if more and more book lovers visit the fair. Parimal Suklabaidya not only lauded and praised the efforts of the organizing committee, but also highlighted the importance of books and book reading in the life of an individual. He assured that he would definitely try his level best to extend his helping hand so that in the future also the Committee continues to organize such a book fair.

Dr S Lakshmanan, Deputy Commissioner of Cachar urged upon the organizers to present a book to each dignitary on the dais instead of a bouquet. He further said that it would be a good idea if the committee organizes a quiz competition in the venue same. He urged the people to purchase books worth at least Rs1000.