Guwahati, Jan. 2 -- The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, on Friday visited the Assam Book Fair at Khanapara in Guwahati, describing book fairs as "pilgrimage sites of knowledge" that nurture intellectual growth and a thoughtful society.

Addressing visitors and publishers at the fair, Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Books illuminate minds, cleanse thought and enrich society across generations. The collective body of literature reflects the conscience, creativity and imagination of a society and plays a vital role in building an intellectually progressive nation."

"Every step taken to promote reading is a firm step toward the intellectual advancement of a people," Sonowal added, urging the younger gener...