The Hindu 17.02.2014
Amma Mess comes to the city
As many as 6,600 piping hot idlis with sambar were
served for free on the opening day at the ‘Amma Mess’ at Kalasipalyam
here on Sunday.
The mess has been set up by the
former State Secretary of the All-India Anna DMK (Karnataka unit) K.R.
Krishnaraju. Its inauguration coincided with the 66th birthday of Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
The mess has
been established on the lines of the ‘Amma Mess’, the low-cost eatery
across Chennai where each idli costs Re. 1 and is a Tamil Nadu
government initiative.
Giving details about the mess
in Kalasipalyam, Mr. Krishnaraju said: “The idlis will be served on
every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. for a month. Later, we plan to
serve it daily. Each idli costs Re. 1, but it was served for free on the
first day.”
The mess, established for the benefit of
the economically weak sections of society, got an encouraging response
from the locals who swarmed the tiny outlet on Sunday morning. In the
philanthropic effort, the cooks joined hands with Mr. Krishnaraju by
offering their services for free. According to him, the cooks —
Singaramma, Shanti, Basavamma and Lakshmi — offered their services for
free on the first day.
“We prepare the idlis in a
cooking unit upstairs around 5 a.m. and start serving them by 7 a.m.
here. We voluntarily wanted to be a part of the initiative and therefore
are doing it for free,” said Shanti.
The tiny mess
is located in a building owned by Mr. Krishnaraju at the end of a cross
road called Nageshwara Garden opposite the Kalasipalya police station.
The street was dotted with posters and buntings of ‘Amma’, making it
easy to guess the location of ‘Amma Mess’.
Mr.
Krishanaraju hopes that many more such eateries will come up in the
city. “This was a personal investment as I wanted to help the economical
weak section of society here. We will seek government aid so that more
such outlets can be started. A memorandum to this effect will be
submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on February 23,” he said.
The cost factor
Mr. Krishnaraju said the cost of idlis doled out on the first day stood at Rs. 8,000 excluding the cost of vessels.
At
least Rs. 2,500 would be needed per day on an average to sustain the
functioning of the mess. The party proposes to establish a fund with the
contribution of party members so that the initiative can be supported.
