In the wake of seismic shock from Covid-19 pandemic and spiking the deaths from the disease, the authorities of Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2021 curtailed the time by three and a half hours from today.
From now, the book fair will start from 3:00pm and will close at 6:30pm except the holidays, aiming at reducing the public gatherings.
However, during weekends (Friday and Saturday) the book fair will start at 11am and end at 6:30pm.
Earlier, the book fair opened for all from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
A press release, signed by director of the Public Relations Department of Bangla Academy Aparesh Kumar Banerjee, published on Wednesday in this regard.
Considering the recent spike in the coronavirus infection rate, the authority changed the time of the book fair.
Earlier on March 29, after receiving instructions from the government, the Bangla Academy took the decision to start the Ekushey Book Fair at 3pm and end at 8pm instead of 9pm.
Earlier on March 17, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2021 sprawling both on Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka.
Though the month-long fair is usually held in February commemorating the 1952 Language Movement, this year the fair has been delayed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh recorded 52 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll since the pandemic hit the country.
Besides, the country’s health authorities recorded over 5,000 fresh cases for the third straight day.
The latest figures showed 5,358 new cases in a 24-hour period until morning, which pushed up the caseload to 611,295, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
nh/wi
