, Oct. 25 -- Publishers and books traders have urged the government to provide bank loan subsidies and policy assistance to help the book industry survive a severe crisis triggered by the massive increase in paper and printing costs.

The demand was raised by speakers at the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Dhaka unit of the Bangladesh Pustak Prokashok o Bikreta Samity (BAPUS) Bangladesh Publishers and Booksellers Association. The meeting was held today at the Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Auditorium of Bangla Academy.

Speakers at the AGM highlighted the immense struggle faced by entrepreneurs to maintain their traditional business amidst the sharp rise in the cost of living and soaring commodity prices.

They stressed that the go...