Chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, along with education minister PK Shahi (left), inaugurate Patna Book Fair at Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Spring will be doubly beautiful for the bibliophiles of Patna, as a book fair would be organised in the city every year from March 22.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar passed this instruction on Thursday while inaugurating the Patna Book Fair, organised by Centre for Readership Development at Gandhi Maidan. He said: “As the fair this year coincides with the centenary celebrations, the organisers should fix March 22 as the date for hosting the fair every year.”

This instruction was in response to Patna Book Fair secretary Amarendra Jha’s statement that the event was being organised now, instead of December last year as decided earlier, because the authorities concerned could not decide on a venue.

Around 300 publishers from across the country are taking part in the fair. Booklovers can pick up titles they like from 700-odd stalls. While adults would have to pay Rs 5 to enter the fair premises, schoolchildren will only have to show their identity cards to get a free entry. The theme of the fair is “On the path to development”.

Organisers have also paid tribute to historian RS Sharma who died last year. The main entrance to the fair has been named after Sharma, who was also the founder-chairperson of Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.

Describing the different kinds of books available, organiser Dhruv Kumar said: “Visitors would be able to pick up fiction, non-fiction and academic texts on humanities, social sciences, science and technology. There are a large number of books for children.”

Visitors thronged the fair in huge number. Swati Priya, a college student who had come to the book fair, said: “I expect that the book fair this year would be different. I am interested in books on literature and hope there’s a good collection this time.”

Sarita Budh, the director of Mauritius Bhojpuri Foundation who also attended the inauguration ceremony, said: “The state government and the organisers of the event should try to organise a Bhojpuri Book Fair in Mauritius, so that the cultural bonding between Bihar and the island nation can be strengthened.”