Tasty Affair With Humble Millet At Eatery Stalls In City

Bhubaneswar: To spread awareness about nutritional benefits and the easy way to bring tasty millet to urban dining table, eatery stalls are being put up across Odisha capital from 6 pm to 9.30 pm this month.

It is part of Millet Mission’s Urban Internship Programme of the Odisha government, being implemented through Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies (NCDS) and Watershed Support Services and Activity Network (WASSAN).

On the menu at the stalls will be foxtail millet (kangu/kora) kheer, vadas as well as finger millet (ragi/mandya) laddoos and pakodas.

The state government had launched Millet Mission in 2016 and implemented it in 2017 kharif season. In March, the central government had also declared 2018 as the ‘National Year of Millets’.

Climate-resilient, healthy and nutritious, millet are considered smart crops and now officially declared ‘Nutri-Cereals’.

The programme is expected to benefit around five lakh small and marginal farmers with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announcing Rs 100 crore for it in the coming year. It will soon be extended from the existing 30 blocks across seven districts to 55 blocks across 11 districts.

The state government has also decided to include minor millet like little millet (suan) and foxtail millet (kangu) in midday meal (MDM) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programmes. The required millet will be produced and supplied by Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and women SHGs.

The date-wise schedule of location is given below: