Agartala, Apr 06: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said his government has set its goal to double the budgetary allocation in the next five years.

"The previous government increased the budget by Rs 4000 crore and our government increased the budgetary allocation in five budgets by over Rs 11,000 crore," Deb said in the closing ceremony of 40th Agartala Book Fair on Tuesday.

The state government tabled budget of around Rs. 27000 crore for the current financial year and no the government's goal is to increase the figure to Rs. 50,000 crore by next five years, the Chief Minister said.

ICA minister Sushanta Chowdhury, who presided over the closing ceremony, said the 40th Agartala Book Fair registered an increase in the sale graph as compared to the previous year.

He said, “Books of Rs 1.13 crore were sold in the previous year’s book fair. This year, the figure crossed Rs 1.13 crore in the first 11 days. The count of the last day will definitely increase the amount.”

Cooperative minister Ramprasad Paul, Sabhadhipati of Paschim Tripura zilla Parishad Antara Deb (Sarkar), Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation Dipak Majumder, chairman of Tripura Tea Board Santosh Saha, Secretary of ICA department- Abhishek Chandra,Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner (Agartala) Arif Mohammad, ICA director Ratan Biswas and other dignitaries were present in the valedictory function.

Over 160 stalls participated in the Book Fair. The presence of Bangladesh's popular writer Sadat Hossain remained one of the key attractions for the visitors.

While the Book Fair recorded an increase in the footfalls, the overall concept including the design of the stage and entrance was well appreciated by the people visiting the Book Fair.

The twelve-day 40th Agartala Book Fair concluded with the distribution of various awards among the individuals and groups for their outstanding contributions in various fields.