Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that Indira canteens will start functioning from August 15 in all the 198 wards of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the officials of Finance and Urban Development departments to discuss the canteen project, Siddaramaiah said: “We have decided to hand over the responsibility of managing the canteens to the BBMP. A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Bengaluru Development Minister K J George to discuss and decide the design of the canteens, logo and related details.”

Mayor G Padmavathi, Deputy Mayor Ananda M, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, Food and Civil Supplies minister U T Khader and Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Mahendra Jain will be part of the committee, he said.

The canteens will come up on 500 sq ft of space at each of the wards and built at a cost of Rs 7.50 lakh. The total cost of the project is Rs 15 crore and the canteens will be constructed by Karnataka Land Army Corporation.

The chief minister said that breakfast will be available at Rs 5 and Rs 10 would be charged for lunch and dinner at the canteens. “Our officers will visit Amma canteens at Tamil Nadu to study the model there. There will be no compromise on the quality of food that will be served at the canteens. We need time to prepare to launch the canteens. Hence, we have decided to start them from August 15," he said.

Drinking water to slums
Siddaramaiah said that about 10,000 litres of drinking water will be supplied free of cost to the slums in the city every month. The government has decided to waive the pending water bills and the interest for slum dwellers, he announced.