Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud urged the parents to make their children more familiar with books and inspire them to develop the reading-habit instead of giving them mobile phones.
“There is no alternative to reading books to build an enlightened and good life,” he said this on Thursday while speaking at a book unveiling ceremony at the Grantha Unmochan Kendra in the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Bangla Academy premises in the city.
Dr Hasan said book is the best weapon of building a healthy and enlightened life as well as overcoming the challenges of life.
The Amar Ekushey Book Fair is drawing huge bookworms and publishers and becoming animated day by day, a good omen that indicates social media addiction could not keep the people away from reading books, said Hasan.
The book fair, which had a fairly modest beginning, now has extended to 8, 00,000 square feet area, he added.
Dr Hasan unveiled covers of three books- ‘Amar Bangabandhu Amar Swadhinata’ of Shibu Kanti Das, ‘Biplobi Noor Hossen’ of Imran Akanda, and ‘Mrittika theke Akash Chuyeche je Pran: Bangabandhu Seikh Mujibur Rahman of Kobi Mohammad Hossen- in the function.
Former lawmaker and poet Kazi Rozi, folk singer Fakir Alamgir, Kabi Aslam Sani, students and teachers, among other, were present on the occasion.
