Eat Right Millet Mela

The Food Safety Department of Chengalpattu District, in collaboration with the Department of Food Technology, Hindustan Institute of Technology (HITS), Padur organized the Eat Right Millet Mela on 14 December 2022 to raise awareness of the value of millets as part of the International Year of Millet (IYOM) 2023.

The program commenced with Tamil Thaai Vaalzthu and Bharatanatyam. Dr. S. N. Sridhara, Vice-Chancellor, HITS delivered the welcome address. The program was inaugurated by Mr. A. R. Rahul Nadh, District Collector, Chengalpattu. He also released the Eat Right Program Certificate. During his inaugural speech, he elucidated the importance of millets, its role in health, and food security, and also its impact on the economy of developing countries. Further, he spoke about food waste management, repurposed used cooking oil (RUCO), and biodiesel from cooking oil. He appreciated IYOM initiatives at the HITS campus in conjunction with the Food Safety Department, Chengalpattu. Mr. A. R. Rahul Nadh handed over the Eat Right Campus certificate to Dr. S. N. Sridhara, Vice-chancellor of HITS, and FoSTac, Hygiene rating certificates to the concerned vendors.

The special address was delivered by Mrs. Shanta Sheela Nair, IAS (Retired). She emphasized key characteristics of millets and their capacity for drought tolerance. She further correlated the role of organic farming with millet cultivation

Mr. S. R. L. Idayavarman, Chairman, Tiruporur Panchayat Union; Mrs. KAS Thara Sudhakar, President, Padur Panchayat; Mrs. G. Sarguna, Project Officer, ICDS, Chengalpattu District; Deans, HODs, and faculty members from the Department of Food Technology and other departments participated in the event. As part of this program, the Eat Right signature campaign was also arranged at the program venue.

Chef Koushik Shankar and Ms. A. Shrutika, Actress presented different types of millet recipes. Ramp Walk, music and dance programs were also held.

During the valedictory program, Dr. David Easow, Head, the School of Liberal Arts and Applied Sciences delivered the welcome address. Dr. Asokan, CEO, GEM Hospitals, Chennai, was the chief guest. He pointed out the emergence of millets for controlling gastroenterology disorders. Online and offline competition winners were awarded merit certificates and cash prizes. Finally, Dr. T. Anuradha proposed the vote of thanks. The program ended with the national anthem. The event, was attended by more than 1000 staff and students of HITS and representatives from the food safety department took part in the event and the campaign.