The inaugural Indira Canteen meal will be served on Wednesday at the unit in Kanakanapalya, near the Ashoka Pillar. The lunch will be free for all and a long list of dignitaries, including Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi, will dine.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is gearing up for the opening of the first batch of 101 canteens, will have a trial run on Tuesday.
While the inaugural ceremony will be held at 11.30 a.m., the actual opening of the remaining 100 canteens will be at 7.30 p.m. Dinner will be served at all the canteens free of cost on the first day, said BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad.
The canteens will start off by dishing out 500 meals in each session (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Based on the public response, the numbers will be increased or decreased, Mr. Prasad said.
Sanjay Bhan, the hospitality consultant on Indira Canteens, said no food will be served on Tuesday. “We will be carrying out the equipment route mapping and other things,” he said, adding that all hands were on deck to get the canteens up and running.
The BBMP had initially announced that 198 canteens would be set up by Independence Day, but the number was later brought down to 125 because of difficulties in getting land in all the wards. The authorities further revised the number to 101 and deferred the inauguration by a day citing the busy day August 15 was sure to be.
The canteens will serve breakfast for ₹5 and lunch and dinner for ₹10 each.
Fate of idlis in question
Idlis could be conspicuous by their absence during the first few days at Indira Canteens. According to sources, because of a delay in the arrival of steamers, most canteens will temporarily replace the three-piece idli breakfast option with either the other option in the set menu — puliyogare — or a new option — chow-chow bath, which is basically kesari bath and khara bath. However, BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said the menu does not have idli every day and the item is just one of the options. “We have not promised idli every day. So according to the menu, we will serve one of the two items,” he said.
