AGARTALA, February 12 (TIWN): The stage is all set to celebrate the 33rd Agartala Book Fair, 2015. Series of events like poets meet (humorous poems), archives and library, folk, meet authors, children spot painting competition etc are lined up for the twelve-day long 33rd Agartala Book Fair slated to begin from February 13 at Umakanta Academy Ground. The book fair will continue till February 24.

Taking to TIWN a stall owner, Ranvir Singh, said the objective of the fair is to inculcate reading habits among the youth.

This is my 16th book fair and the response has been good. There are a lot of academicians who visit the fair, and we have got many books, especially on North-East and Tripura printed here," said he.

Book lovers consider the fair as a golden opportunity for getting a collection of books written by their favourite writers, which are rarely available in the city market.

Book fairs are obviously a big thing for all areas, particularly for backward places like us. First and foremost it gives a big exposure to the new books that are coming out, and it also encourages new writers. This is one of the best platforms for interaction between the writers and the readers. I think many writers, especially from Tripura, have benefitted from this fair and in future years also, they will be having the same benefits, said a enthusiastic book reader Nakul Ray.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar will inaugurate the book fair. Altogether 119 stalls will be opened in the fair. 3 stalls from New Delhi, 42 stalls from Kolkata, 1 from Mumbai, 1 from Kerala, 4 from Guwahati, 1 from Bangladesh and 67 from Agartala will participate in the fair.