The Hindu 27.05.2013
Amma Unavagam to open by end of May in city
Women self-help groups return after training in Chennai.
Even as the Coimbatore Corporation races towards the May
30 deadline to start 10 budget restaurants in the city — Amma Unavagam —
the groups it selected to take care of the cooking have returned from
Chennai.
The Corporation had chosen 15 women self
help groups to undergo training in Chennai, where Amma Unavagam has been
functioning for quite some time.
Training
According to sources, the groups went to Chennai for two-day training and returned on Monday morning.
The
civic body had sent the groups to the State capital in order to learn
how the Unavagam functioned in Chennai, how the food was prepared and
served to customers every day and how the premises was kept clean.
The
sources said that though the Corporation had initially planned to have
five Amma Unavagam it subsequently increased it to ten.
Locations
A
resolution that was passed at the May 21 Urgent Meeting of the
Corporation Council said that the civic body would establish the
restaurants at the Singanallur Bus Stand, at the Corporation complex in
Flower Market, Maniakarampalayam, Corporation office complex in Kurichi,
Corporation complex on 80 Feet Road, Ramanathapuram, Thirumal Street
wedding hall, at the new bus stand on Mettupalayam Road, at the school
complex in Masakalipalayam, in Amman Nagar, Saravanampatty, and in
Kuniamuthur.
In the resolution that was passed, the Corporation also said that it would incur a loss of Rs. 2.64 for an
idli
, Rs. 9.73 for a unit of sambar rice and Rs. 4.44 for a unit of curd rice.
Each
of the 10 Amma Unavagam would incur a loss of Rs. 7,419 a day and all
the ten centres would erode the Corporation coffers of Rs. 2.70 crore a
year.
As per a Government Order, the Corporation would sell an
idli
for Re. 1, a unit of sambar rice for Rs. 5 and curd rice for Rs. 3.
The
sources said that now that the groups had returned from the training,
they would be graded and the best 10 of the 15 would be allotted the
centres. The remaining five would be in reserve mode.
As and when there was want of help or human resource, the five groups would chip in.
Kitchens
The
sources also said that though the Corporation was trying to commission
kitchens in all the centres, it might not be possible to get them ready
on day one.
Until kitchens were complete, the
Corporation would transport food from nearby centres to those where
kitchens were in the process of completion.
