Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended greetings on Nuakhai Juhar and called it an occasion to express “gratitude to our hardworking farmers” for their “exemplary work in feeding our nation”.

The Prime Minister also wished for the health of the citizens.

“Nuakhai Juhar! Best wishes to everyone on this special day. This is an occasion to express gratitude to our hardworking farmers for their exemplary work in feeding our nation. May our society scale new heights of progress and may everyone be happy as well as healthy,” PM Modi said in tweet.

Nuakhai Juhar is celebrated in western Odisha and southern Chattisgarh. The festival is observed to welcome the new season of rice. Nuakhai is a combination of two words that signifies the eating of new rice, ‘Nua’ means rice and ‘khai’ denotes eat. (ANI)