22nd Delhi Book Fair comes to close

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) From skits advocating theimportance of reading to magic shows on initiatives like’Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan’, bestselling books at throwawayprices to unique stationery products, the Delhi Book fair thatended today had something for everyone. Organised by Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) inassociation with Federation of Indian Publishers, the 22ndedition of the fair aimed to create better reading habitsamong children. Interactive activities like book reading and story tellingsessions and street plays were also organised throughout the9-day-long fair to engage young readers. This year was also aimed at highlighting initiativesundertaken by the central government for its ‘Sarva ShikshaAbhiyaan’ flagship programme to inculcate better readinghabits," Jayanta Das, General Manager, ITPO said. Ashok Karbanda (62), who presented a magic show on theimportance of reading, health and hygiene at the fair, saidseeing children "glued" to mobile phones and computers, is"disheartening." "Nowadays, children hardly have time to read books. Wejust try to raise awareness about different issues in a funyet thought-provoking way," he said. The fair saw over 250 exhibitors including both Indian andforeign publishers, book sellers and distributors besideseducational institutions and manufacturers. One of the major attractions was the Theme Pavillion thatwas transformed into a ‘selfie station’ "in line with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visions of skill development, startups, swacch bharat etc," Das said. "All these campaigns were put together to make studentsmore aware of the national initiatives," he added. The range of books included both fiction and non-fiction,academic books, children’s literature including few stalls ondigital innovations. School students were allowed free entry to encourage theirparticipation in different activities organised that the fair. A fair guide and mobile application detailing thelocations of the exhibitors and ancillary activities were alsolaunched to make it convenient for for the visitors tonavigate the area. PTI TRS DPBTRS