Book lovers in the city have a reason to cheer. The 26th Hyderabad Book Fair was inaugurated amid an enthusiastic crowd and a host of book lovers at People's Plaza, Necklace Road, on Thursday. The 11-day fair was inaugurated by Rural Development Minister D. Manikya Vara Prasada Rao and educationist and MLC, Chukka Ramayya.
With about 250 stalls from leading publishers and book houses, the fair is set to titillate the appetite of book enthusiasts in the city. Around 50 publishers from outside the State are also participating in the fair, making a wider variety of books available to citizens.
The exhibition will be open between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 12 noon to 9 p.m. on weekends. Entry fee has been fixed at Rs. 5 but has been waived for school and college students, along with their teachers.
A visitor will get a general discount of 10 per cent at all the stalls, while some are also offering discounts up to 50 per cent. Extolling the importance of reading, Mr. Ramayya said that students should be encouraged to participate in the discussions related to books. “While there is an increase in the number of books being published every year, the quality of the books and knowledge dissemination is going down. To set this right people should be encouraged to participate actively in the discussions,” he said. The book lovers seemed to be a happy lot. “Though there was a delay in starting the fair, but I am happy that it has come to the city at last. I came on the first day itself as I can search for the best deals before they are lapped up by others,” a book lover said. “While the deals are really good the organisers should have arranged a mobile ATM machine at the premises.
