The 26 edition of Vijayawada Book Festival began on a grand note here on Thursday. The ongoing 11-day event being orgnised by Vijayawada Book Festival Society (VBFS) has a record 385 stalls this time.
The book festival has been maintaining the tradition of offering a rich collection of books to cater to the needs of every section of society. The rise in the number of stalls – from 84 half a decade ago to 385 now – reflected the publishers’ confidence in the event, said the organisers.
Inaugurating the exhibition, Sahitya Akademy award winner Katyayani Vidmahe said that the society was going through the dominance of Internet and electronic media which had made volumes of information readily available on the TV and computer screens. “People are getting swayed by the digital content. But, books give a view of the whole world and through books, one gets an insight into the hearts and minds of the people,” she said.
Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, who participated as the chief guest of the inaugural, promised the organisers that the State government would extend all possible support, including allocation of land, to set up a library in the city. “The exhibition is not just for Vijayawada denizens but for entire Andhra Pradesh as it is being organised in the Capital region. The head masters of schools should bring their students to the exhibition so that the children inculcate habit of reading books. Educational officers, RIO etc will be instructed to take necessary steps in that direction,” he said.
Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Vijayawada (Central) MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, Joint Collector J. Murali, VBFS president S. Rama Rao, secretary S. Venkatanarayana, media convener Babji and others also spoke on the occasion .
