Unprepared stalls mark first day

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 opened on Thursday amid incomplete preparations, with many stalls still under construction and several essential facilities yet to be fully set up across the Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan, the fair venue.
A visit to the fairgrounds on the opening day revealed that the traditional vibrancy and festive atmosphere were absent. Instead, many areas were marked by unfinished stall structures, empty shelves, scattered construction materials, and ongoing painting and decoration work.
Upon entering through the Ramna Kali Mandir gate, only a limited number of stalls were found partially prepared. Most shelves remained empty, and several stallholders were waiting for construction work to be completed.
Even the stalls of the Bangla Academy, the organiser of the fair, had not arranged books by the afternoon. Construction work was still underway at their units, including the stall near Raju Sculpture.
Several publishing houses, including Chhaya Prakashan, Sandipan Prakashan, Duar Prakashan, Chandrabindu Prakashan, and Jonaki Prakashan, had not displayed books at their stalls.
In contrast, a small number of publishers, such as Annanya Publication, Sabda Shilpa, Bhashachitra, Anindya Prakash, Vigyan Academy, Rabeya Book House, and Prothoma Prakashoni, had arranged a limited collection of books.
However, overall preparations remained insufficient to create a functional fair environment.
According to the layout, the construction work of at least 40 stalls had not been completed by the first day. Workers at several units stated that it would require an additional two to four days to make the stalls fully operational.
At stalls numbered 503 and 504, allocated to Creative Dhaka Publications, carpenters were seen continuing construction work since the morning.
Abid A Azad, publisher of Creative Dhaka Publications, said, “The fair had begun in a very unprepared state. Both my stall and the adjacent ones would require several more days to become fully ready.”

Little Mag Chattar
The situation at the Little Magazine Chattar was similar. Located in the tree-lined area adjacent to the open stage of Suhrawardy Udyan, 87 little magazines have been allotted stalls in that section.
However, only one stall had displayed publications, while the rest were either under construction or not yet arranged.

Regular timing and Shishu Prohor
This year, the fair will continue until 15 March. It will be open every day from 2pm to 9pm, while on holidays the book fair will start at 11am and continue until 9pm, with the first two hours designated as Shishu Prohor (Children’s Session). After 8:30pm, no new visitors will be allowed to enter the fairgrounds.
A children’s zone has been set up in the central area of Suhrawardy Udyan, accommodating 63 institutions across 107 units. Discussions and cultural programmes will be held for all, while competitions have been scheduled throughout the fair period for children.

Facilities yet to be ensured
Essential facilities across the fairgrounds were also found incomplete. 
Several walkways were dusty and uneven due to ongoing construction activities. Piles of bricks, sand, bamboo, and wood were visible in different areas.
The designated prayer space was still being prepared, though arrangements for Tarawih prayers were announced by the organisers, considering the needs of devotees during the month of Ramadan.
Breastfeeding corners were set up, but necessary furnishings were not fully in place.
Tamanna Sultana, a mother who visited the fair with her two children, told the Daily Sun, “This year’s book fair looks lifeless. I am a bit disappointed after visiting the fair today. Hopefully, things will improve soon.”
Organisers’ thoughts
This year, a total of 549 publishing houses are participating in the fair, with 81 located within the Bangla Academy premises and 468 in Suhrawardy Udyan, comprising 1,018 units in total.
As a notable change, no pavilions have been allowed this year as per the demand of Prokashok Oikko, a platform of over 300 publishers.
Publishers who previously constructed pavilions were required to shift to standard stalls, which some said created additional logistical challenges.
Bangla Academy Director General Dr Mohammad Azam said, “We are trying our best. There are some mishaps as we didn’t get much time after the election to allocate stalls and complete other tasks. Besides, there were issues from the publishers and we needed to make some last-minute adjustments. We hope that the fair will come alive in a couple of days.”

Adequate security preparations
Despite the incomplete preparations, security measures appeared comprehensive. Law enforcement agencies, including Bangladesh Police, RAB, and Ansar, were deployed throughout the venue.
Approximately 300 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the area around the clock, with security operations supervised from a police control room within the fair premises.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner Md Sarwar said that strict security will be ensured at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
“Strict vigilance will be maintained to prevent any untoward incidents,” he said.