Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran on 28 January 2010 inaugurated the publicity campaign, 'Kelikottu', of the five-day Annam national food and agro biodiversity festival to be held in Kozhikode from February 11 to 15. During his inaugural speech at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, where hundreds of students from various schools in the city had gathered, Mr. Divakaran exhorted the students to stand up for the protection of the earth and to raise a line of defence against the devastation of its organic properties and biodiversities. He also stated that effective steps should be taken to attract the young generation to farming. “We also have to be able to liberate them from an adulterated food culture,” he said. Mr. Divakaran unfolded a white umbrella “Jaivasamrakshanakkuda” giving a symbolic protection to a bunch of plants and saplings held out by the students on the stage. The students also took a pledge to submit themselves to protect the nature and its biodiversity without doing anything harmful to corrupt its organic properties.

Pradeepkumar, MLA, presided over the function. A poster exhibition with the message of 'food security for a secured future' was organised by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA) at the venue. Cultural programmes, including folk songs by the Kalam Pattukootam in Thrissur, and an awareness programme on healthy food by ventriloquist N. Vinod were held on the occasion. Adv. M. Sankaran, Civic Chandran, Prof. Shobeendran, Dr. Ansari, Fr. Antony Kozhuvanal, T.V. Balan, C.E. Chakkunny, Fr. Devasya, Dr. A. Bijukumar and Dr. N.S. Pradeep spoke on the occasion.

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