Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat CEO Mona Roat urged people to stop eating junk food and start eating dishes made from millets to improve their health. She opened a 'Cooking Competition of Forgotten Recipes' during a millet fair held on December 18 in Chamarajanagar. The fair was organised by the district administration, Zilla Panchayat, and Agriculture Department. It is a lead-up event for the International Millet Trade Fair 2026 in Bengaluru from January 16 to 18. Ms. Roat expressed concern over the rising intake of fast and junk food. She said, "junk food, however palatable, has adverse effects on health." She added, "Instead of offering such food to children, it is better to give them home-cooked dishes made from millets." She also warned that certain packaged foods might harm health. Ms. Roat highlighted that elders lived long and healthy lives by eating millet-based meals. She advised mothers to make sure children get home-cooked millet food and stressed the importance of growing millets to preserve this valuable heritage. Sushma, joint director of the Department of Agriculture, recalled that Chamarajanagar had won prizes in previous state-level millet cooking contests. She hoped participants would join the 2026 International Millet Trade Fair and succeed again. Judges for the cooking event included Dr. Dhanyashree and Dr. Manjunath from Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, and Dr. Deepa from Krish Vigyan Kendra. Ms. Roat, Ms. Sushma, and the judges tasted and praised a variety of delicious millet dishes prepared during the competition.