Jeypore, 15th Nov 2025: The observance of Mandia (Millet) Day began in 2022. Every year, the first Thursday of the month of Margasira is celebrated as Mandia Day. The main objective of this celebration is to promote the widespread use of millets, which are beneficial for both the environment and human health.
Today being the first Thursday of Margasira, the district-level Mandia Day was celebrated at the Sadbhavana Hall. The event was held under the chairmanship of Chief District Agriculture Officer Gokul Chandra Pradhan, with Koraput District Collector Manoj Satyavan Mahajan participating as the Chief Guest.
The Collector stated that over 30,000 farmers in Koraput district are engaged in millet cultivation. To increase production, farmers are being trained in new cultivation techniques. He also mentioned that 2.5 lakh quintals of millets are produced annually in Koraput district. He appealed to the public to include millets in their daily diet for better health and to support the farmers.
Twelve progressive farmers were felicitated on this occasion by the dignitaries.
Other prominent guests included:
- Bhaktabandhu Janardhan Dalei, Additional District Collector
- Dr. Raimati Ghiuria, “Mandia Queen”
- Harshita Priyadarshini Mohanty, “Seed Girl”
- Experts like Dr. Parshu Ram Sial from RRTS and Dr. Sunita Dandasena from KVK presented detailed reports and information.
Also present were:
- Dr. Neel Madhab Satapathy, ADPHO
- Arpita Pradhan, Additional District Education Officer
- Satya Narayan Dash, Executive Engineer
- Purnajay Panigrahi, ADA, Nabarangpur Agricultural District
- Ashutosh Dash Nanda, from TDCL, among others.
- A Millet Exhibition Fair organized on this occasion was inaugurated by the District Collector.
- Officials including Santosh Dalabehera were also in attendance.
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