The Times of India            01.10.2013 

Amma canteens to serve dinner from next week

CHENNAI: After dishing out idli, dosa, sambar rice and curd rice, Amma canteens across the city are likely to introduce chappati, dal and channa as dinner next week. So far the 200 canteens have been serving only breakfast and lunch.

An official said the canteens will have a trial run this week and start serving four lakh chappatis by next week. People from northern states who visit the canteen are happier. "The canteen has been a blessing for me, but eating sambar rice and curd rice every day is not fun," said Nishant Mehta, a Mumbaikar working in Chennai. "Now I get to have chappati."

The canteens were to be opened for dinner a couple of weeks ago, but it got delayed because the chappati-making machines didn't arrive. Though the corporation opened canteens mostly for the poorer sections like daily labourers, the general hygiene at these places have made them attractive for even the middle class. Tens of thousands of people have been thronging the canteens which provide an idli at 1, curd rice at 4 and sambar sadam at 5.

An official said 15 centralised kitchens, one each in a zone, will churn out chappatis for the canteens in each ward. Each zone has seven to 15 canteens, depending on the number of wards. "With the chappati-making machines in place, we will be able to supply 2,000 chappatis for each canteen," said the official. "On a trial basis, chappati will be introduced during day time and made available for dinner." The canteens work from 7am till the breakfast ends and opens at noon for lunch. Officials are awaiting the chief minister's nod to make the chappati dinner official.

The machines can make 3,000 chappatis in an hour, while a group of six women now employed through self-help groups can make only 50 chappatis in the same time. The state government allocated 4 crore to buy machines to make chappatis, dal, sambar and sambar rice.