Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa and others launch the poster of the Anna Suvidha Yojane for home delivery of food items to BPL & AAY card holders aged above 75 years at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Credit: DH Photos
Bengaluru: The state government has announced home delivery of rice for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) card holders aged above 75 years.
Speaking at the World Food Day programme on Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Anna Bhagya scheme beneficiaries would receive pulses and other items along with 5 kg of rice, instead of 10 kg of rice.
Noting that 943 tonnes of rice worth Rs 360 crore goes waste every year in Bengaluru alone, he urged people to be mindful about wasting food.
“We were once dependent on America for rice, and now we have progressed to the point of exporting it to other countries. However, it is unfortunate that food wastage is also increasing,” he said at the programme organised by the food and civil supplies department.
He said, “I know the sufferings due to hunger and the value of rice — that is why the Anna Bhagya scheme was implemented”.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government was considering giving each Anna Bhagya beneficiary an Indira grocery kit consisting of oil, lentils, sugar, salt and other items.
“A lot of people sell the additional 5 kg rice. Through the kit, we hope to prevent this misuse,” he said.
The deputy chief minister said that the Congress government had prioritised food safety from the very beginning.
“From the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Devaraj Urs and S M Krishna in the state, we have always tried to satisfy the hunger of people. Krishna implemented mid-day meals to contain the increasing number of school dropouts”.
On the Congress’s party commitment to provide food security to the poor, the chief minister said, “Congress introduced the Food Security Act, but BJP called it the Vote Security Act. They were against the poor people”.
He credited former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh with introducing the Food
Security Act and playing a role in ending the hunger of people.