Cyclothon, mela under Swasth Bharat Yatra spread food safety awareness
Cyclothon, mela under Swasth Bharat Yatra spread food safety awareness Photo: Northeast Now

Twenty-nine cyclists from Manipur and officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) from the North East chapter of Pan India Cyclothan under Swasth Bharat Yatra arrived in Kohima to spread awareness on food safety on Monday.

The team was received by Nagaland adviser to law and justice, border affairs, treasuries and accounts Dr Longriniken in police headquarters and accorded a warm welcome by the by Khiamniugan Naga tribe.

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A “Swasth Bharat Mela” on the theme “Eat Right India” was organized by the FSSAI in association with the food safety wing of Nagaland health and family welfare department at Kohima local ground on Monday after cyclothon team’s arrival.

Flagging in the cyclothon, Longriniken said the Swasth Bharat Yatra aims to ensure trans-fat free India by 2022. He said the North East chapter of the cyclothon started from Tripura and has crossed Mizoram, Manipur before reaching Nagaland, creating awareness on eating healthy and safe food for healthy living.

According to him, the yatra was more ambitious than the World Health Organization’s call for trans-fat free nations by 2023.

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The legislator called upon every citizen of Nagaland to reduce intake of salts, sugar and control one’s diet and participate actively in this noble mission to achieve the goal of a healthy nation.

Expressing his excitement to receive the young cyclists from Manipur, Longriniken called upon them to keep the friendship and relationship between Nagaland and Manipur in order to make the entire Northeast healthy.

At the Swasth Bharat Mela, master ceremony Chandrika Das highlighted the importance of the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a Pan India Cycle rally, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March and ‘Salt Satyagraha’ of 1930. The yatra would lead the nation towards freedom from diseases by spreading the message of Eat Right India to every corner of the country, she said.

Das said the main objective of the yatra and mela was to send out a strong message on consumer awareness on food safety from raw materials to finished products, food processing, transportation, storage handling, packaging, distribution and whole sellers.