The absence of Indira kitchens has not only affected food preparation but has also shifted the responsibility to private contractors like CHEFTAK and REWARDS, who now supply food from centralised locations.
Published Oct 11, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 12, 2024 | 8:52 AM
Indira Kitchens have been remaining closed since the outbreak of Covid-19. (South First)
The closure of Indira Kitchens in Bengaluru following the outbreak of Covid-19 has left several people jobless.
Out of the 10 Indira Kitchens established to provide subsidized meals, nine have been shut for nearly four years.
Launched in 2017, the Indira Kitchens prepared and supplied affordable meals to the city’s residents, particularly low-income families and daily wage workers.
Each kitchen employed approximately 15 to 20 staff members per shift, including cooks, loaders, and managers. However, with the closure of these facilities, several workers have been denied job opportunities.
Indira Kitchens are now gathering dust. (South First)
The absence of operational kitchens has not only affected food preparation but has also shifted the responsibility to private contractors like CHEFTAK and REWARDS, who now supply food from centralised locations.
Local residents expressed their disappointment over the kitchens’ closure, noting that the reopening of these facilities would not only restore job opportunities but also ensure quality meals.
As the community calls for action from authorities, the prolonged inactivity of the Indira Kitchens stands as a stark reminder of the economic repercussions of the pandemic, highlighting the need to address the unemployment of hundreds of workers in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru is home to 168 Indira Canteens, including three mobile units.
To support food preparation and distribution, authorities set up 10 mini-kitchens across various zones in the city. However, nine canteens have remained closed for an extended period, and among the 10 kitchens, only one is currently operational.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has contracted two companies, CHEFTAK and REWARDS (Rural Environment and Water Assets Reproductive and Development Society), to supply food to Indira Canteens.
CHEFTAK provides food for canteens located in Bommanahalli and the West Zone, while REWARDS manages the canteens at Dasarahalli, East, Mahadevapura, RR Nagar, South, and Yelahankha zones.
These companies have been awarded contracts for two years, with REWARDS, a Delhi-based NGO, supplying food to 142 Indira Canteens and CHEFTAK handling the remaining locations.
The government has allocated approximately ₹77 crore for REWARDS, with the Urban Development Department covering 50% of the costs and the BBMP contributing the remaining half.
People gave mixed response over quality, quantity and hygiene at Indira Canteens. (South First)
Previously, the BBMP had also contracted Bengaluru-based NGO Adhamya Chetana. However, this organisation did not participate in the recent tendering process due to the delay in clearing its payments by the government, sources said. Its contract is set to expire soon.
Food is sold a subsidised rates at these canteens. Though the production cost of a breakfast and two meals a day stands at ₹62, the government is offering breakfast for ₹5 and lunch and dinner for ₹10.
Indira Canteens offer a diverse menu for breakfast, featuring idli, upma, kesaribath, and a variety of rice dishes, including puliyogere, pongal, chitrana, and vangibath.
For lunch, people can enjoy rice with sambar and curd, served daily throughout the week. For dinner, the canteens provide options such as tomato bath, curd rice, chitrana, pulao, menthya pulao, bisi bele bath, and puliyogere.
The BBMP closed nine of the 10 Indira Kitchens following the Covid-19 outbreak, leaving the necessary infrastructure to gather dust.
When the Congress government launched Indira Canteens in 2017, the BBMP had set up 10 mini kitchens in different zones to prepare and supply food.
However, the government decided to shut all the kitchens following the outbreak of Covid four years ago.
Now, the BBMP has awarded contracts to three private players: CHEFTAK, REWARDS, and Adhamya Chetana for various zones in the Bengaluru city limits. Adhamya Chetana’s contract is to end soon, whereas the other two companies will continue supplying food for the next two years.
“At present, Adhamya Chetana is supplying food to all the canteens in the East Zone. Similarly, there are two other contractors (CHEFTAK and REWARDS) who supply food to the canteens in other zones,” an official told South First.
“REWARDS is supplying food to Dasarahalli, RR Nagar, and KR Puram. CHEFTAK caters to the South and West Zones. We have kitchens at Deepanjali Nagar, Kottigere, Bommanahalli, Basavanagudi, and TC Palya.”
“The food is supplied from centralised kitchens to Indira Kitchens. Then, we will dispatch food to Indira Canteens. One kitchen has to capacity to manage around 20 canteens,” the officer, who did not wish to be identified, explained.
In a few localities, the people expressed disappointment over the closure of Indira Kitchens. They said the surroundings of these kitchens have now become a haven for anti-social elements.
“There are two canteens – within a 100m radius – and a kitchen in Basavanagudi. One canteen is in Azad Nagar, which falls under Chamarajpet and another one is at Basavanagudi. The Indira Canteen in Azad Nagar was closed for many years and opened only two years ago. The canteen and kitchen located in Basavanagudi ward have remained closed after the BJP government came to power (in 2019),” Mukund, a resident of Basavanagudi, told South First.
“We were hopeful that the Siddaramaiah government would resume the operations of the kitchens. However, they have remained closed to date. The officers keep visiting but have not uttered a single word on resuming operations here,” added Mukund.
“If they open, it will help hundreds of poor people as they will get food at subsidised rates. As it remained closed for years now, the miscreants are using this place to consume drugs, alcohol, and other activities,” he alleged.
“When it was operational, CCTVs were functional, streetlights operational and Hoysala units patrolled at regular intervals,” Mukund said.
While most of the people gave positive reviews about the food at Indira Canteens, a few expressed concerns over quality, quantity, and unhygienic practices.
Autorickshaw driver is a regular at Indira Canteens since 2017. (South First)
Indira Canteens were launched across Karnataka during the first tenure of Siddaramaiah as the chief minister in 2017. The government has then set up 165 canteens in Bengaluru city alone.
After the Congress came to power in 2023, the government is not only planning to add another 100 canteens but also announced a new menu, adding Mangaluru buns, ragi balls, bread and jam, chapati, and other dishes.
Autorickshaw driver Syed Rasheed has been a regular customer since 2017.
“The canteens serve good quality and quantity of food at subsidised rates. For the same quality of food, we have to shell at least ₹40 to ₹50 in hotels. No one will serve this kind of food at ₹5 and ₹10. I have never found substandard food here,” he said.
In many areas, the primary customers who frequent these government-sponsored subsidized canteens are autorickshaw drivers, cab drivers, students, daily wage workers, and street vendors.
Santosh gives high-five for the food quality at Indira Canteens. (South First)
Santosh, a student residing near Hosur Road, has his breakfast and lunch from the canteen daily.
“I go to the Domlur canteen for dinner. The quality of the food is good. I feel like having a home food here. It is helping me a lot. I also do a part-time job and prefer to have food three times a day in the Indira Canteen itself,” he pointed out that he spends only ₹25 to ₹30 a day for food at the canteen.
Ramanagar resident Shabeer Ahmed, who was lunching at the Indira Canteen in Majestic, told South First: “The new menu has already been introduced in Ramanagara and Mandya. We are getting chapati and ragi balls regularly.”
“I found out that the new menu is yet to be introduced in Bengaluru. The authorities have to improve the quality of rice and sambar. The government has to ensure that the good quality of food is being served in these canteens,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation’s conductor Nagaraj told South First: “Whenever I come to Bengaluru on duty, I have food at Indira Canteen. The quality will be substandard here. They cook properly but the sambar is not tasty.”
“The quantity is very small. We have to eat at least three or four servings to fill our stomachs. There is no water to drink and wash hands at the Majestic canteen. We carry our water bottles,” the APSRTC conductor said.
Nagaraj, a student, felt the food could be better. “There are no proper facilities to wash hands as all the taps are damaged. They are providing water in buckets, and it is unhygienic. They should also improve the quality of the food.”
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
