From poor patronage to unavailability of electricity and water as a result of pending dues, the sorry state of affairs continues at Indira Canteens in the city ahead of elections in Karnataka.
With the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) shutting down all mobile Indira canteens in the city citing lack of patronage and lack of budgetary allocation, the canteens, meant to feed the poor, have been suffering.
The Opposition has alleged that the lack of interest by the BJP government to fund operations of the canteens, which were launched by the Congress government, is what has led to this present state. Incidentally, the BJP on Monday made a poll promise to set up Atal Aahara Kendra in every ward of municipal corporations to provide affordable and quality food.
How it started
Indira Canteens were set up in Karnataka in March 2017 with the aim of serving the urban poor on the lines of the Amma Canteens in Tamil Nadu. While breakfast is available at a subsidised rate of ₹5 per plate, lunch and dinner are offered at ₹10 per plate.
On August 16, 2017, 101 Indira Canteens were inaugurated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Later, the initiative was expanded to various parts of Karnataka. The Congress alleges that things started to change when the BJP came to power. The canteens in Bengaluru, though operational, have become a pale shadow of their former selves.
The Karnataka government had been providing 30% subsidy to the BBMP for operating Indira Canteens in Bengaluru. In 2017-18 and 2018-2019, the then government allocated ₹100 crore and ₹145 crore, respectively. After the BJP government took over, in the past two years, no funds were allocated for the scheme. Hence, the civic body had to allocate funds to the canteens from its already stretched Budget. The BBMP had earmarked ₹60 crore in the 2022-23 Budget for running the Indira Canteens, which was less than half of what was allocatted in 2018-19.
The government has not started any new canteens in the last one year and what was sanctioned have not commenced operations.
Further, while 15 mobile Indira Canteens were operational in Bengaluru in December 2022, the BBMP shut down all of them in Bengaluru.
Popularity is down
Claiming that the popularity of the canteen has come down, the BBMP is looking to shift them from less populated areas to densely populated areas. A BBMP official involved in the project said, “It is true that the canteens are not as popular as earlier, specially after the COVID-19 pandemic. We are looking at various ways to popularise the canteen and target more people in the coming days. One measure is to relocate canteens in lesser populated areas to densely populated areas, such as bus stands, railway stations, and market areas. The State Cabinet has given a nod for the move. The Urban Development Department (UDD) is conducting a survey.”
At present, Indira Canteens provide meals to around 70,000 people every day, according to the civic body. However, many people in the city have been depending on the canteens for their meals, but patrons say quality has suffered.
Kiran Kumar, a food delivery person who has his afternoon meals at the canteen daily, said, “The food was good earlier, but now, the quality is not great. But I have to depend on the canteen. We earn very little and can’t afford to eat in normal hotels as it costs ₹55 for just rice and sambar. In Indira canteen, it is just ₹10 a plate. The government has to give more importance to the food quality and hygiene to get more customers to the canteen.”
“Food quality is good, but there is an issue of drinking water facility and hygiene. Sometimes, there are insects moving around the canteen,” said Prakash, a cab driver, who has his lunch at the Arekere canteen in South Bengaluru.
