The Karnataka government plans to open Indira Canteen in all 198 wards of Bengaluru on Independence Day.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that he has instructed the officials to ensure that there is no delay in the opening.
Siddaramaiah held a meeting on Tuesday with ministers and officials about the mode of operation of the canteens and said that it has been decided that the BBMP would manage them. He added that places have been identified in all the wards for these canteens.
“Each canteen will be roughly 500 sqft and the construction of each canteen will cost a minimum of Rs 7.5 lakh. We will spend Rs 15 crore for this. We have also received 671 responses from the public for the logo design and 177 responses for the building design,” The New Indian Express quoted him as saying.
A committee, headed by Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George and Minister for Food and Public Distribution, U T Khader has been formed to decide upon the logo and the building design for the canteens. The committee also includes, BBMP Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the BBMP Commissioner among others. The panel had also been entrusted with the responsibility of identifying the agencies that will supply food. The entire process is expected to take another three months, the report adds.
Siddaramaiah told media persons that there will be multiple agencies to supply food. “There will be one kitchen for every assembly ward and there will be multiple agencies. Let there be competition. But we will not compromise on quality,” he said.
The government will also look at the Tamil Nadu model of Amma Canteens to decide how best to run the canteens and the money to be paid to the agencies. It will also look at how a similar system as the pourakarmikas’ mid-day meal scheme and whether the same can be applied to the canteens.
One has to pay Rs 5 for breakfast, while lunch and dinner will cost Rs 10. “A lot of importance will be given to making the food delicious, but ISKCON had to be ruled out as they do not use onion and garlic,” the CM said.
“They are doing an excellent job in providing food for other schemes, but we need this (canteen) food to have a little spice. It should not be monotonous,” the CM added.