Dehradun, May 12 (PTI) A four-day millet festival begins here on Saturday as part of the international millet year to create public awareness about the health benefits of millets (mota anaj) or Shree Anna and deliberate on the state's potential to grow crops in this category.

"The purpose of the four-day deliberations is to lure more and more people towards millet production which is to be doubled by 2025," state agriculture minister Ganesh Joshi said at a press conference here.

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"We all know the health benefits of millets. Consumption of manduwa prevents diabetes, eating kurath ki dal prevents gall bladder or kidney stones. Similarly, those who eat Jhangora do not suffer from knee pain," he said.

The festival will be attended by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar as the Chief guest and the agriculture ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh where millet grows abundantly, the minister said.

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The state government will try to implement the outcome of the four-day of deliberations at Shree Anna Mahotsav, he said. 134 stalls will be put up as part of the Mahotsav by the agriculture department, agricultural universities and other institutions engaged in agriculture cultural research.

There will also be food courts where different dishes made of millets will be available, Joshi said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)