Mamata agrees to Firhad’s resignation as civic body mayor: Kunal Ghosh
Mamata Banerjee gave a nod to Firhad Hakim’s proposal to resign from the mayoral post claimed by TMC leader Kunal Ghosh today.
The state government will provide Rs 10 crore to the Publishers and Booksellers Guild to set up Boi Tirtha to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Kolkata International Book Fair (KIBF), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced today.
She inaugurated the 49th KIBF at Boimela Prangan in Salt Lake this afternoon.
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She urged Sudhangshu Dey, president and Tridib Chatterjee, secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild to apply to the state government and instructed Santanu Basu, principal secretary information and cultural affairs department to provide Rs 10 crore to the guild.
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“We have opened Jagannath temple in Digha and proposed to set up Durga Prangan and Mahakal temple in Salt Lake and North Bengal respectively. We have set up sky walk in Kalighat and Dakshineshwar temples and took over Swamiji Vivekananda’s ancestral house and Ray Villa in Darjeeling, where Sister Nivedita breathed her last and handed them to the Ramakrishna Mission and Sri Sarada Math. Boi Tirth will be our new addition to many other development works,” Miss Banerjee said.
She did not elaborate where the proposed Boi Tirtha will come up but it will be a unique project.
It is because of Miss Banerjee’s initiative Boimela Prangan has come up in Salt Lake. It is a well defined area to host the book fair annually.
The first book fair was held opposite Rabindra Sadan, where Mohor Kunja has come up. Then the venue was shifted to Maidan beside the Territorial Army ground. Then it was held in the Milan Mela Ground, off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and finally to the present venue.
Sudhagshu Dey, president of guild, said: “Even the Frankfurt book fair has lost its grandeur but the KBIF is becoming more glamorous every year.”
Swapnomoy Chakraborty, a noted litterateur, was given the Publishers and Booksellers award for his lifetime achievement. A book penned by Sumanto Basu, a television personality titled Back Stage was released by Miss Banerjee at the inaugural function.
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