Tuesday, 06 December 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In an attempt to raise public awareness about the benefits of the millets, the State government will organise millet fairs in different parts of the State. The Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the objective of holding these fairs is to bring the millets back in the diet of the general public of the State. He said that an eat right fair on the theme of millets would be held in Rishikesh in the month of January next year.
The fair would be organised by the Food Safety and Drug Administration. He added that similar fairs would be organised in Srinagar and Almora in the months of February and March respectively. The minister said that in these fairs at least five stalls showcasing the dishes made from the millets would be set up. Info- graphics associated with millets and the recipes of healthy dishes from the millets would be depicted in the fairs.
Quiz competitions, slogan and poster completion on millet theme would be organised in the Fair. He said that in view of the importance of millets, the government of India had proposed to the United Nations Organisation (UNO) that the year 2023 should be celebrated as the ‘ International Year of Millet’ and this was accepted by the UNO. The Minister said that earlier everyone in Uttarakhand used to eat millets but now it is missing from the food plate of the people. He said that pearl millet, finger millet, Koda, Samma, Jowar and Kangni are the superfoods which are good for health. They contain protein, fibre, vitamins, calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc and other nutrients. The millets also contain antioxidants and lignin. The minister added that millet is slowly making a return in the diet of people which is a good sign.
