THOOTHUKUDI: The third edition of the Thoothukudi book fair, which concluded on Tuesday, recorded a footfall of one lakh visitors and sales of Rs 1.2 crore during the eight days of the fair. The district administration in association with Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) conducted the book fair from November 22 to 29.
As many as 45 book stalls were installed by BAPASI and seven of them by various government departments. Nine refreshment stalls were also set up at the book fair. A dedicated reading hall was also launched to encourage the habit of reading. Cultural programmes by school students were held for 8 days of the book fair.
In order to encourage visitors to buy books and improve their reading habits, the district administration also conducted a lucky draw in which Mohamed Ziavuddin of Pazhayakayal, Velsamy of Kovilpatti, and Rajalakshmi of Thoothukudi won a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
Prizes were awarded to students in various competitions such as article writing, art, classical dance, folk dance, folk song, instrumental music, speech, and extempore. During the last day of the book fair, MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi released a new book titled 'Ariyapadatha thiyagikal' written by Muthalankuruchi Kamarasu on the effective guidance of the district collector.