The Hindu       23.02.2012

Plan to start eateries for daily wagers

The Chennai Corporation wants to formalise the concept of ‘Kai yendhi bhavan' or roadside eateries. It has proposed to set up around 1,000 eateries across the city in an effort to provide quality, hygienic food to the city's floating population of 10 lakh.

“We would provide good food at low cost to daily wage labourers, autorickshaw drivers, unorganised workers, and school and college children. We would provide only breakfast and lunch. We plan to start 200 eateries on a trial basis. People running roadside eateries can also apply and we are willing to pay them wages,” Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy told the Corporation Council on Wednesday.

The mayor said self-help group members would be roped in to prepare food and transport it to the eateries. The food would be prepared at the four community kitchens of the Corporation from where food is supplied to relief centres during the monsoons. The commodities would be procured from the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, he said.