Agartala, Feb. 21: Tripura has sought additional central security forces and four helicopters ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

State chief electoral officer K.V. Satyanarayan said the state had requested Delhi for 226 additional companies of paramilitary forces, besides the helicopters. “At least 100 companies would be required from the first day of campaigning and the remaining 126 would be needed at least 10 days before the polls. The helicopters would be needed five days ahead of the elections and request would be made to ensure that the choppers stay till at least five days after the polls,” he said.

“There are at least 19 highly sensitive and vulnerable booths in Dhalai district where polling personnel have to be deputed by helicopters,” Satyanarayan said, adding that the state would request Delhi for additional fund for meeting election expenses.

Book fair begins

The 22nd Agartala Book Fair started here today with state information minister Anil Sarkar calling for a revolution to promote the culture of book reading. Syed Anwar Hossain, former director general of Dhaka-based Bangla Academy, inaugurated the 11-day book fair in the Tripura capital amid fanfare. Apart from the regular features on art and culture of the northeastern states, a programme on self-composed poem recital will be the main attraction. The entry to the fair will be free of cost for visitors.

Describing books as “inexhaustible treasure houses”, Sarkar in his speech urged the youths to devote their time to book reading instead of “harmful television programmes.”

Among the dignitaries present at the inaugural function were leading Bengali poet Nirendra Nath Chakraborty, Bangladeshi intellectual Mesbah Kamal, litterateurs Udayan Sharma from Assam and Pankaj Bisht from Delhi.

As many as 158 publishers and book-dealers are participating in the fair, including 82 from West Bengal, 70 from Tripura, two from Bangladesh, three from Assam and one from Meghalaya. Last year's fair did business worth Rs 66.72 lakh, which is expected to increase this year, Sarkar said. The state information department has set up an open dais for launching new books on the premises of the fair.

Hotel deal
Our Correspondent

Shillong, Feb. 21: Disinvestment minister Arun Shourie today said he was right in criticising the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the privatisation of Centaur Hotel in Mumbai, but admitted the CAG’s role as “an important institution”. Shourie, who was here to attend a BJP meeting, said he was denied any opportunity to defend himself.

The CAG report said the government had lost Rs 145.69 crore by undercharging lease rent while selling the property to Batras Hospitality. Batras had sold the hotel to the Sahara group just one month after closing the deal with the government.