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.
