Ahara Mela: 82 orphans have luncheon date with CM

It was a dream come true for about 82 orphan students who had the privilege of having lunch with Chief Minister Siddarmaiah and other dignitaries at the Food Mela that was inaugurated at Scouts and Guides grounds here on Saturday.

The Chief Minister himself served ‘kheer’ and other sweets to the students of Girls Balamandira situated on Lalith Mahal road, run by department of Women and Child Welfare.

A separate enclosure was made for the luncheon on the premises, where Ministers and other dignitaries who had descended on the City on account of Dasara festivities, launched at various places.

The menu comprised ‘Mysore pak’, ‘obbattu’, three varieties of salads, pulav, rice, sambar, complemented with ice creams.

The change in ‘Ahara Mela’ venue is sure to be welcomed by the visitors, who were regulars to the Mela, which was earlier held at the congested CADA premises.

Mouth-watering ‘akki rotti and ‘enegayi’ from Haveri, ‘Kolhapuri behl’, ‘Bangarpet pani puri’, ‘dosas’, ‘gobi manchurian’, spicy ‘biriyanis’ like ‘Bannur mutton biryani’, ‘donne biryani’, ‘kebabs’, ‘gravies’ and ‘fried fish’, sodas, ice creams, condiments and other delicacies are available at the spacious grounds which has about 100 stalls.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion Chief Minister Siddarmaiah took the opportunity to highlight the Anna Bhagya scheme, which he said had come as a boon to the BPL families. He said ragi, which is a staple in South Karnataka and jowar, a staple to the people of North Karnataka will also be supplied at subsidised rates.

He also recalled his moments as a boy who used to visit Mysore to watch the famous Jamboo Savari, sitting near Deaf and Dumb school, and said the caparisoned elephants played a major role in the festivals and still had the magic of drawing huge crowds, year after year.