Bengaluru: Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad headed to an Indira Canteen located at Radha Krishna temple on Sunday, posing as a common customer, to find out how one of his pet projects was faring.
On Sunday at around 1 pm, he entered the canteen and paid Rs 10 for lunch. He was served rice, sambar and curd rice.
He took the plate and checked whether the weight of the food served to him was as per the standard (550 grams excluding the weight of the plate) prescribed to the Indira canteen food contractors. He took the plate along with him and began interacting with some of the customers at the canteen.
He was surprised to see an auto-driver, who had bought his whole family - his mother, wife and two children for a meal at the canteen. All of them seated in the stone chair erected at the canteen, the Commissioner interacted with them to know how the state's ambitious plan of feeding the poor and needy was working.
"The auto driver was happy. There were no complaints from the family. His school going kids too were happy over the meals served by Indira canteen" Prasad told Deccan Chronicle.
Not stopping there, he further interacted with a security guard, who hails from Assam. He told the Commissioner that he is now able to save money from his meagre salary, which used to get spent on food alone.
An auto-driver told the Commissioner that he earns Rs 500-600 per day of which he pays Rs 200 to the owner of the vehicle and of the remaining Rs 300-400 he used to spend more than Rs 100 for food. But after the coming of Indira canteens, his food expense has come down to Rs 25.
The commissioner was also seen interacting with masons and others at the canteen. The only negative feedback the commissioner received was regarding the quantity of food served during breakfast. Many said it was not enough, and tea and coffee should also be included in the menu.
