Dhaka, Feb. 21 -- Thousands of people swarmed to the venues of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair at the Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Wednesday as the nation observed Shaheed Dibas and International Mother Language Day.

The venues opened at 8:00am and visitors started pouring into the book fair from the morning.

The Bangla Academy organises the country's biggest book fair every year commemorating the Language Movement and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for mother tongue Bangla.

The academy began its activity at 12:30am by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar.

Around 200 poets, including poets from Kolkata, recited their poems on the main stage of the fair on the Bangla Academy premises in th...