Indira Canteens continue good work

Inaugurated a year ago ahead of elections, they are largely hygienic, serve tasty food, and cater to a cross-section of people. A Metrolife survey

A pet project of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Indira Canteens were launched with much fanfare almost a year ago. The ruling Congress announced the project ahead of the Assembly elections, and sceptics were convinced the enthusiasm would wane once the elections were done.

Surprisingly, the canteens have not ended up as yet another apathetic government project. They are largely clean, well-maintained and function efficiently.

Metrolife visited Indira Canteens in different parts of the city, and this is what we found.

C V Raman Nagar

Good, clean washrooms

This sees almost 400 people turning up every morning, 300 in the afternoon and just about 20-30 at night. Most beneficiaries are below the poverty line and are happy to have access to quality food in generous portions, along with amenities like clean plates, drinking water and well-maintained washrooms. The staff is friendly. The food is supplied from the Kodihalli kitchen.

Jeevan Bhima Nagar

Neighbourhood adda

Situated at a walking distance from the bus stop, this canteen has a clean sitting area and serves hygienic food. It is a neighbourhood favourite as the crowd includes college-going students (making full use of the pocket money-friendly prices), boys living in the neighbourhood (chilling in their pyjamas!) and women well into their 80s and 90s catching up on local gossip. “In a city like Bengaluru, having a quality meal at affordable prices three times in a day is unimaginable for a person like me. Indira Canteen has helped me save money and not go hungry,” says an elderly woman.

HBR Layout

Yum Bisi Bele Bath

The canteen is clean. Used plates are taken away at regular intervals. The hand wash, glasses at the water filter look clean. The staff are friendly and guided customers on where to pick up and dispose the plates. The crowd was dominated by small shop owners, construction workers, labourers and auto drivers. Some young professionals were around too. We got to try the breakfast on Friday, a piping hot Bisi Bele Bath at just Rs 5. R Basavaraj, who monitors the canteen, says, “The place sees about 650 people for breakfast, 500 for lunch and serves about 200 for dinner. Even if we are about to close, and people walk in, we never turn them away,” he says.

Basavangudi

Buzzing centre

Situated next to a small park near SSM School, it sees a big crowd of workers walking in. This must be one of the more crowded Indira Canteens.

Hosakerehalli

On elevated park

The canteen is a bit difficult to find as it is situated inside an elevated park. Frequented by a mix of lower and lower middle class people, the place is a little messy.

JP Nagar

Prompt service, more affluent diners

About a dozen people were having dinner at 8.30 pm on Thursday, when we visited this canteen. The premises is spic and span. The clientele comprises mostly construction workers, though a few elderly more affluent men also walked in. We tried a pulav for Rs 10, and it was filling and tasty.

Ashok Nagar

Added attraction: Free Wi-Fi

Located in the heart of the city, the Indira Canteen situated next to Garuda Mall on Magrath Road sees a footfall of about 1,700 on weekdays. The numbers dips to 1,200-1,300 on weekends. Diners are a mix of mall employees, professionals, auto drivers, and construction workers.

We found the canteen clean and the food filling and tasty. Clear instructions are given on signboards in Kannada. The workers are helpful and direct you to the plate disposal and hand wash promptly.

“The menu changes every day. The food for this particular canteen comes from the kitchen in Kodihalli,” says a National Cadet Corps marshal supervising the canteen. Each Indira Canteen has a cadet or ex-servicemen, apart from the regular staff, monitoring it.

The canteen gets about 800 plates in the morning, 750 in the afternoon and 300 in the evening. “The money is sent to the kitchen and they send it to the contractors, who also maintain the BBMP canteens,” he explains.

PS: The Wi-Fi works really well here, a rare distinction for any public hotspot.

Katriguppe

Walk some distance

Situated in a residential middle class neighbourhood, away from the main roads, this canteen sees a crowd comprising workers who walk a good distance to get here. The food counter is left unattended sometimes but the facility is fairly clean.

Prices can’t get any better

Breakfast is three idlis (150 gram) or spiced rice, such as Bisi Bele Bath or Chitranna (220 gm). It costs Rs 5.

Lunch and dinner items weigh around 300 gm and cost Rs 10. The menu changes daily, and comprises white rice and sambhar or curd rice accompanied by tomato bath, chitranna, vangibath and so on. The food is weighed out before it is served at the canteens.

The cooked is done in centralised kitchens, each of which serves eight to 10 canteens. Leftover food is sent back to the kitchen.

Timings

7.30 to 9.30 am, 12.30 to 2.30 pm and 7.30 to 9.30 pm.

What is the subsidy?

You can have three meals---breakfast, lunch and dinner---for just Rs 25. The total subsidy BBMP gives for all three meals together is Rs 32. The caterer incurs an expense of Rs 57 per person per day. Of this, the citizen pays Rs 25 and BBMP pays Rs 32 as subsidy. Every day about two lakh meals are served. In a year, the total subsidy comes to about Rs 100 crore.

11 more coming up

Bengaluru has 171 static Indira Canteens and 17 mobile ones. Four more static canteens and seven mobile ones are in the offing, taking the total to 199, according to BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad.