Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday urged people to offer millet to Goddess Laxmi during Manabasa Gurubar during the Hindu month of Margasira.
“Our mothers will observe the first ‘Manabasa Gurubara’ of ‘Margasira’. I request all the mothers and sisters to offer millet before Goddess Lakshmi on the special occasion and serve food prepared from millet to all the members of the family,” he said at the two-day international symposium on ‘Shree Anna & Forgotten Foods’ here.
Majhi added that this will help to promote Shree Anna or millets as a wholesome and staple nutritious food.
Odisha has been celebrating Mandia Dibasa (Millet Day) on November 10 to promote millet cultivation and its consumption across the state since 2022. During Manabasa Gurubar, newly harvested paddy grains in a Mana (a measuring pot made of cane) is offered to the Goddess.
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The CM also informed about Rs 649 crore allocated in this year’s budget for increasing production and consumption of millet. “The objective is to transform Odisha in a millet hub,” he said.
He also elaborated on measures being taken for cultivation and export of millets. “The state government is providing incentives for the processing of millets. 40 per cent subsidy will be provided to the entrepreneurs in this regard. Food items made from millets are also being supplied to hospitals, schools and government-run canteens to fight malnutrition,” he said.
Majhi further stated that millets will play a key role in ensuring food security to the people. “The people of undivided Koraput district earlier cultivated millets on a large scale. Now, the crops are being cultivated by farmers under 177 blocks in the state. Two women farmers from Odisha were selected as the Millet Ambassadors during the G20 summit in New Delhi last year,” he said.
