By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: On the occasion of Akshay Tritiya Farmers’ Day on Sunday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated several grassroots-level programmes.
Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister for Women and Child Development Basanti Hembram, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Secretary Arbinda Padhee , Secretary Mission Shakti Sujatha Karthikeyan Pandian and Secretary for Women and Child Development Shubha Sharma were present at this event.
The Chief Minister first went to the Odisha Agricultural and Technical University and greeted the farmer brothers and sisters of the state. Later, he went to Lok Seva Bhawan and inaugurated Millet Shakti Cafe there. Realising the importance of Mandia and other millet food grains in controlling malnutrition, the state government has implemented the Millet Mission. So far 142 millet outlets have been opened in the state.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the ‘Agricultural Review Centre’, which will function as a ‘central command and control system’ in the state agriculture building. In the application of computer and information technology, it can help in decision-making by obtaining real-time information from the field level. The center will play an important role in the successful implementation of various schemes and support to the farmers. Arvind Padhi, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department, briefed the Chief Minister about the activities of the center.
Along with this, the Chief Minister also inaugurated a creche ‘Kalika’ for the children of the employees working in Lok Seva Bhavan. Currently, it can accommodate 20 children in the initial phase.
