The Hindu 29.04.2013
A meal in honour of those who toil & serve
On Saturday, hundreds of workers — both Chennai
Corporation employees and those belonging to self-help groups in the
city — gathered on the premises of Ripon Buildings, for a special lunch.
The
meal was organised in honour of all those who had slogged it out over
the past few months to bring about the successful launch and operation
of the Corporation’s 200 budget eateries across the city.
Corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur inaugurated the lunch, and several senior Corporation officials also attended the meal.
A variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes was served.
With
sales of the popular Re. 1 idli having crossed one crore last week, the
civic body is now planning to identify challenges that the initiative
faces.
One such challenge, officials said, is the
tricky problem of dealing with drunken men who visit the Amma canteens
after having visited Tasmac outlets nearby.
“There
are no security guards at the Amma canteens. The women who work in them
find it difficult to deal with people who are drunk and rude on the
premises,” said an official associated with the scheme. Of the 200
budget eateries inaugurated by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa recently, at
least 50 are in close proximity to Tasmac outlets, officials said.
Another
plan in the offing is a separate department under the civic body to
manage the affairs of the budget eateries. A meeting on Monday is likely
to look into various aspects of the canteens.
The
budget eateries are part of the Corporation’s ambitious project to
provide healthy food at reasonable prices to residents living in slums,
daily labourers, drivers, load men and migrant workers.
The restaurants offer idli (100 grams) for a rupee, sambar rice (350 grams) at Rs. 5 and curd rice (350 grams) at Rs. 3.
Civic body hosted a lunch for those who helped launch and run Amma canteens.
