Chennai: After losing their iconic godmother (late CM Jayalalithaa) and then mauled by cyclone Vardah, the corporation run Amma canteens are now back in action catching up with customers. The daily sales of Amma canteen which slipped during weekends and eroded by 50,000 meals are now back in the limelight. On Monday and Tuesday, the Amma canteens recorded again around 10. 25 lakh meals a day.
The Amma Canteen at Ekkaduthangal, which witnessed a slew of problems three months ago, is now back in action feeding the poor. On Wednesday DC visited half a dozen Amma canteens located in Egmore, Government Hospital, Ekatthuthangal, Madipakkam and Kodambkkam though there were one or two aggrieved voices from the customers, the by and large response from the customers was satisfaction and content.
However, access to hygienic drinking water was a predominant problem admitted by both the customers and the Amma Canteen staff. “Water in the barrels used to be yellowish three months ago. Though it is clean now, a similar situation is witnessed sometimes,” said Manimaran C, an auto driver, who regularly eats his lunch at the canteen.
Garbage outside the canteen near government eye hospital in Egmore.
“The fact that this canteen still sells more than 900 chapatis every night explains the growing demand,” said a canteen staff. The only issue is that there is no salary hike for us, rued the staff
At the Amma Canteen on Lake View Street in Iyappa Nagar, Madipakkam, staff say that the patronage has been steady, if not increased over the years. “I possibly can’t know the exact numbers. But, there have been very few days when we had leftover food,” a staff there said.
More than 20 women work in two shifts at the Amma canteen here and one of the in-charges of the canteen, Selvi says that the salary issue also has been sorted out. “We used to get our salaries on the 23rd of every month. Now, we get on the 15th,” she said. Selvi further feels that it is not required to increase the price of food items in spite of reports about the losses incurred in running the canteens. “The poor are the patrons of the canteen and they come here regularly because of the lesser prices. Also, it is one of the legacies of Amma” Selvi told DC.
