Day 1 customers give canteen the thumbs up

More than 6,000 people thronged Indira Canteens on Wednesday evening after the inauguration of 101 canteens across the city on the first day, for free food. Though the canteen at Kanakanapalya was inaugurated in the morning, it was only in the evening that the remaining 100 canteens were opened.

Mahesh, a resident of Basaveshwaranagar, relished the rice and sambar at the canteen in Kanakanapalya. He was on his way to Jayanagar on some work and decided to try the food on seeing the crowd at the canteen. “It is a good initiative by the government and it helps poor people like me,” said Mahesh.

Nagaraj, who works at the RV Teacher’s College nearby, plans to visit the canteen daily. "Every day, I used to pay about Rs 20 for a meal. Now, I can get it for Rs 10. I can save half the amount and it certainly helps over the years,” he said. “The government should implement more such pro-poor measures,” said Nagaraj.

Usha, a housewife in Kanakanapalya, said she did not cook at home on Wednesday, since she wanted to try the food in Indira Canteen. “It is not as bad as I thought it would be. Usually, while providing food at low cost, they compromise on quality. But it is not so here,” said Usha relishing the rice and sambar. There was huge demand for the special item, Vangibath, and it got exhausted fast.

The canteen saw people coming from other parts of the state as well. Basavaraj, who hails from Gokak (Belagavi district), was one of the first customers. “The quality of the food is really good. In other hotels, we need to spend about Rs 50 for the same food. Here, we get it for minimal cost. It is a welcome initiative,” he said.