The Hindu 03.06.2013
Amma Canteens start catering to Vellore populace
From Sunday, idli is available for Re. 1 per piece, ‘sambar’ rice for Rs. 5 and curd rice for Rs. 3 in Vellore.
These
subsidised food items will be sold at the 10 different Amma Canteens
that have been opened in Vellore Corporation on Sunday under the
Annalakshmi Scheme of the Tamil Nadu Government.
Minister
for Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare A. Mohammed Jhan
inaugurated the canteens near the MLA’s office in Vellore and near the
Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Gandhinagar.
He
also inaugurated the sale of food in the above canteens in the presence
of Vellore Collector P. Sankar; Mayor P. Karthiyayini; MLA V.S. Vijay;
Deputy Mayor V.D. Dharmalingam; Commissioner Janaki Raveendran; and City
Health Officer Priyamvadha.
The eight other places
in Vellore where the Amma Canteens were opened are Neduntheru in Kaspa,
near the Corporation shops in Viruppakshipuram in Arni Road, Beedi
Workers’ Colony in Sathuvachari, Bharathi Nagar in Cuddalore-Chithoor
Road, Corporation Shopping Complex opposite to the Collectorate,
Venkatapuram Road in Alamelu Mangapuram, near Corporation School in
Bagayam and Market High School in Kosapet.
The Amma
Canteens were located in the Corporation’s existing community centres in
most places, while they are functioning in new buildings that have been
constructed in the other places. In two places where the flooring of
the buildings was yet to be completed, i.e., Alamelu Mangapuram and
Bharathi Nagar, food was prepared in a nearby place belonging to the
Corporation and brought to the canteens.
A visit to
the canteen near the Vellore MLA’s office revealed that the canteen
comprises a big dining hall, counters for supplying food, a kitchen, a
service area and a room for washing vessels. The kitchen is equipped
with three huge gas stoves, a refrigerator and a machine for preparing
the idli flour.
Laddus were distributed to the visitors to the canteen on Sunday.
All
the 10 canteens would function from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 12 p.m.
to 3 p.m. Three hundred plates of sambar rice, 300 plates of curd rice
and 1,200 idlis would be prepared daily in each canteen, says a release
issued by the Vellore Corporation.
No parcels
A
notice board in the canteen near the MLA’s office says that parcels of
food items would not be given, which means that the visitors would have
to eat the food at the canteen itself.
