Residents' concerns give food for thought as canteen D-Day nears

The deadline for the inauguration of the Indira Canteens is hardly two weeks away and the dream of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to make Karnataka a hunger-free state lies on shaky ground as only about 60 structures for the canteens have been built by BBMP.

Of these, 38 are full-fledged canteens being built along with kitchens, the rest are just kitchens. It takes eight days to construct the canteens. While four days are needed to erect the structures, another four are required to give the finishing touches. The work involves flooring and fixing the underground tank. Giant cranes are used to make the job easy. Another 30 canteens are expected to be completed next week.

BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad was confident the Palike will be opened within the deadline.

“Out of 198 canteens, 110 are being built on BBMP land. The rest are coming up on land belonging to other government agencies like BDA, BWSSB and revenue department. As many as 16 plots are embroiled in controversy and there is no problem with the others.

“A total of 59 canteens have already been constructed. None of the places identified are civic amenity sites, but are open spaces,” he said.

But, the construction is marred by controversies due to encroachment of parks, playgrounds and temple premises. Palike officers say politicisation of the issue has led to controversy.

Tree-felling opposed

Some residents are opposing the construction of the canteens at a few places. Sudha Rani, a resident of Vijayanagar, said, “The construction of the canteen by cutting trees and encroaching playgrounds is not acceptable,” she said. Four trees were felled near Vijayanagar Metro station recently to build the canteen.

B S Manjunath, a resident of Basavanagudi, said, “They cut trees for erecting a structure here. The purpose of

the canteen is good, but not the way they are doing it,” he said.