Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: Book lovers, especially from the suburbs and rural pockets of the state, who do not have the luxury of a proper book store or library around them, can look forward to the "books-on-wheels."

Organised by the New Delhi-based National Book Trust (NBT), the book van was flagged off here today.

For the next three months, the mobile van will make an extensive tour in at least 10 districts of the state - stopping at schools, market places and busy thoroughfares to offer quality books at a discounted price.

The van will tour Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Cuttack, Dhekanal, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore in the first phase.

Stocked with more than 450 titles on various topics, the van will be stationed for at least five days in each district.

"We had started it in Odisha last year, but on a very small scale. Looking at the response and popularity, we are doing it in a much bigger scale this time," said Bratin Dey, the regional manager of NBT.

"It is wonderful to see the reaction, especially that of the school kids who gather around the van in no time. It is like a celebration time for them. Senior citizens, government officials and housewives too love our collection," said Dey.

Nearly 60 per cent books are meant for children, while the remaining are meant for the general public. The van also constitutes government publications and books by eminent writers such as Mahasweta Devi and Fakir Mohan Senapati.

The books in Odia, Hindi and English include a veritable collection of short stories, books on gardens, science, biographies, folktales, and informative books written in NBT's easy and lucid style.

"The books are original, subsidised and affordable," Dey said, adding that children's books were in great demand in the villages.

"We have a collection of Hindi books too as there are several Kendriya Vidyalayas and Hindi speaking people in the state," said Dey.

"The mobile van aims to promote books and inculcate the culture of reading, especially among the youth in rural areas and small towns.

The state project director of Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (Opepa), Mahendra Kumar Mallik, said: "The district project co-ordinators would brief the schools about the mobile book fair.

The school and mass education department has also asked schools to purchase books for their respective libraries from the school fund.