Bengaluru: Seeing the demand for the heavily subsidised food at the Indira canteens, the state government has plans to increase the number of people they are catering to from 900 to 1,400 each a day.
The over 100 canteens, which provide breakfast for Rs 5 a plate and lunch and dinner for Rs 10 a plate , have reportedly been running out of food and are not able to serve everyone visiting them.
The BBMP commissioner was informed by his zonal commissioners that many people were going back without being served in the canteens and when ministers, who recently inspected the canteens for the quality and quantity of their food, were told about it they reportedly suggested to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that they should each be able to serve 1,400 people a day as against 900 presently.
And it appears he has given the green signal as going by BBMP sources, once the government issues an official order, each canteen will prepare breakfast for 500 people (as against 300 presently), lunch for 500 (as against 300 presently) and dinner for 400 (as against 300 presently).
Going by BBMP sources around 2,500 people visit each canteen every day , but they can only serve 1,400 at present due to problems of logistics.
It is estimated that nearly 90,000 people visit the 101 canteens every day and around 35 lakh have visited them since they opened on August 16.
Once the number of plates are increased to 1,400 a day, around 1.47 lakh people are expected to be served every day.
But despite the increase in food supply, the quality of food will not be compromised, assure BBMP officers. “This will place an additional burden on the state exchequer but the government is committed to providing food to all hungry people at subsidised rates," they added.
Meanwhile, with Mr Siddaramaiah announcing that 50 Indira Canteens will be opened on October 2 and 47 on November 1, Kannada Rajyotsava Day, all 197 wards in Bengaluru will have the canteens from November 2.
The canteens will also open in government hospitals for the benefit of poor patients.
