5 Indira canteens in Mangluru by January

Mayor Kavitha Sanil said that the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has identified land for the proposed five Indira canteens in the Corporation's jurisdiction. The canteens will be ready to serve people by January 1.

Briefing reporters here on Tuesday, she said that the Indira canteens, aimed at serving the poor at subsidised rates, will come up near the street vending zone near Central Maidan, near Kankanady market, near MUDA office, near Kavoor Junction and near Surathkal bus stand.

She said that the canteen will supply breakfast at Rs 5 and meals (both afternoon and night) at Rs 10. The master kitchen will come up in the Indira canteen near MUDA office.

The work on the construction of the canteen will be taken up by the KRIDL at a cost of Rs 2.97 crore. A committee, under the presidentship of the Deputy Commissioner, will look into the implementation and oversee the functioning of the canteens. The committee will invite tenders for the supply of food in the canteen. About 30% of the funds for the maintenance of the canteen will be borne by the Labour department and 70% by the Mangaluru City Corporation, she said.

The five canteens will be part of the 247 Indira canteens that the government plans to set up across the state. The government has decided to open six canteens in Mangaluru city based on the city's population of 5,93,291, she said. However, one of the six canteens sanctioned for Mangaluru will be opened in Ullal, the constituency of Minister for Food, Civil Supplies U T Khader, Kavitha said.

A canteen in a town where the population is between 45,000 and 1 lakh people, will serve food for thrice the number of customers, around 500 people, at a nominal rate fixed by the government. If the population is below 45,000, the canteens will serve food for up to 300 people every day.