The crowd turned huge by the evening with the bookworms, couples, and students struggling to walk freely the fair premises.

Security measurers were stepped up at the entrance to the fair. Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police personnel often in plainclothes patrolled the Bangla Academy area. A huge contingent of police were stationed at the Teacher Student Centre (TSC).

Police who were deployed at all the entrances to the Dhaka University (DU) campus prevented vehicles from plying the campus roads much to the sufferings of the visitors. One of the police officials seeking anonymity said that they did not allow traffic inside the university area due to processions on the campus. No processions, however, were seen in the afternoon.

Sixty-nine new books came out at the fair yesterday. Publishers said the number of new books would increase after the first week. They said that targeting the first weekend yesterday they brought a large number of new books and already sold a good number of them.

Osman Gani of Agamee Prakashani said demand for books penned by late Professor Humayun Azad, who was grievously injured in a machete attack last year and later died in Germany, was amazingly high. Most of the book lovers asked for Azad's 'Pak Sar Zamin Saad baad' and 'Amra Ki Ey Bangladesh Cheyacilam?' Besides, the sale of newly published 'Bhasha Andolon: Sahittick Patobhumi' was good.

Last year on the fourth day of the fair Dr Azad was seen at the Agamee Prakashani signing autographs for his admirers and said, "I feel happy when I see huge crowd at the fair."

Crowd was thick especially around the Nazrul Mancha at the centre of the academy premises. Publishers said most book lovers asked about the new books at their stalls and as the evening fell the sale rose rapidly.

Books by Humayun Azad, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Humayun Ahmed, Emdadul Haque Milon and some new writers sold well, publishers said.

Agamee Prakashani, Shirin Publications, Miahji Publications and Pearl Publications each published five new books on the fourth day of the fair while Shirin Publications and Jagriti Prakashani published three books each. Ichhamati Prakashani, Annya Prakash, Shatom Publications, Parijat Prakashani each published two new books.

At the Lekhak Kunja, noted writers and artists yesterday unveiled covers of a number of books.

The fair remains open from 3pm to 9pm on weekdays while on Friday it opens at 11am to continue till 9pm with a two-hour break from 12 at noon. On February 21, the International Mother Language Day, it will start from 8am and continue till 9pm without intermission.

A traditional discussion on 'Fiftieth anniversary of the Bangla Academy: Its role in compilation of dictionary' was held in the afternoon and a painting competition for children presided over by Artist Ivy Zaman in the morning.