KURNOOL: With a begging bowl in his hand, former mayor Bangi Anantayya staged a protest in front of the collector’s office on Wednesday demanding reopening of Anna Canteens. “If there is an issue with the name of the canteen, change the name. But do not snatch food from the plate of a poor man,” he urged the state government.
The Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered closure of Anna Canteens effective from August 1. There was a widespread protest since the closure of the canteens as they supplied staple food at Rs 5 per serve which had become an anchorage point for workers, labourers and other people.
The former mayor was seen carrying a bowl with food in it and was eating it while his supporters chanted slogans against the shutdown of Anna Canteens.
Speaking to reporters, he said that the closure was done out of spite towards former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and that the scrapping of a scheme which fed poor people was deplorable.
“Poor, working class people, autorickshaw drivers and others depend on canteens expecting nutritious food at a nominal price. But they are now left starving,” he said. The former mayor then pleaded Jagan to reopen Anna Canteens.
“The complication is that Jagan scrapped the scheme because it was brought in by former CM Naidu. If the current chief minister has an issue with the name of the scheme, he should rename it . But a complete scrapping of the scheme is unacceptable,” he added.
