To mark the launch of International Year of Millets (IMY) - 2023, Punjab Raj Bhavan on Monday hosts ‘Millets Lunch’ for the city's elite. City Beautiful’s renowned people, including the members of the newly-constituted Administrator Advisory Council, bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists, doctors, academicians and media were seen feasting their palate with millets delicacies, including Little Millet Kheer (kutki ki kheer), Ragi Halwa, and the Steamed Ragi Dumplings.
Along with the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, city mayor Sarabjit Kaur, Additional Solicitor General Satyapal Jain, Punjab Chief Secretary VK Janjua, Principal Secretary to the Governor Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Adviser to UT Administrator Dharampal and DGP-Chandigarh UT Praveer Ranjan, among others.
Purohit, on the sidelines of the lunch, said that promoting millets can be a turning point for India’s nutritional programme. “Millets are smart food as they are easy to cultivate, mostly organic, and contain high nutritional value. They are good for consumers, cultivators, and also the climate,” he said.
“Raising awareness to create ‘millet mindfulness’ is essential,” said Purohit while stressing upon adopting millets as a part of daily diet and spreading awareness throughout the city highlighting its benefits.
Calling upon all to popularize millets, making a beginning with their own kitchen, the Governor shared the millet popularization and promotion initiatives in Chandigarh. “Jowar and Bajra have been incorporated in the Supplementary Nutrition Programme for the beneficiaries of all 450 Anganwadi Centres. Presently, Khichri and Dalia of millets are being provided in the form of 'hot cooked meal' to the beneficiaries,” he said.
He said that Anganwadi workers are mobilizing community members on regular intervals by organizing stalls of millet recipes' demonstration. During POSHAN Maah-2022, more than 200 programmes or awareness activities were organized at Anganwadi Centres for demonstrations of Millets recipes.
Also, the Social Welfare Department is working in convergence with the PGIMER, Home Science College, Dieticians, GMSH-16, and GMCH-32 for sensitizing the beneficiaries to use millets in their daily diet. For this purpose, chefs from various hotel management institutes demonstrated the millet recipes in front of beneficiaries.
“To spread the awareness among the masses about use of millets in routine diet, Purohit informed that the ‘Chandigarh Millets Mission’ was launched in the city to promote consumption of millets, with Chandigarh becoming the first city in North India to do so,” he said. Under the Mission, various activities such as live kitchen sessions for demonstration of millet recipes like Jowar, Ragi, Kodo millet, chena millet are being organized in all the circles of Anganwadi Centres in convergence with PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Further, interactive sessions like e-ghoshties, Amma or Baba ki rasoi – cooking competitions, online quizzes among the beneficiaries are also being organized under this programme. In the UT State Guest House, Millets Menu including Millets Thali and Millets Snacks (Kababs/cutlets) has been introduced.
“Increase in Millet consumption will not only ensure improvement in nutritional status, it will also help fight climate change as they are resilient crops and grow in half the time of wheat, need 40 percent less energy to process, and use 70 percent less water than rice,” he said, adding that in the face of climate change, water shortage and drought circumstances, they offer a one-stop solution with high nutritional values to provide sustainable food security.