When Raghu of Yethagadahalli of the taluk opened a small roadside canteen in the town eight years ago, his dream was to make it one of the best in the district.
However, luck was not in his side.
Then he had a brainwave. He changed the name of his food outlet to ‘Kumari Ramya Canteen’ this Sunday.
The renaming has paid off: The canteen got over 1,400 customers within a span of 30 hours after the new name was adopted on Sunday.
“Ms. Ramya, former Mandya MP and actor, is also known as ‘Lucky Star’. My wife Jyothi is an ardent fan of hers. This is why we renamed the food joint,” Mr. Raghu told The Hindu . His wife arranged for a loan of ₹50,000 from a Stree Shakti Sangha for the renaming.
“This is not a new canteen. Nor is it financially supported by any political leaders or workers. I had opened it near Hosahalli Circle eight years ago and shifted it to Kala Mandir Road three years ago. The canteen was cleared by the Mandya City Municipal Council (CMC) during an encroachment clearance drive,” he said.
Raghu
When asked about the visit of former minister M.S. Atmananda and other Congress party workers, Mr. Raghu clarified: “I have not invited anyone. They voluntarily came on Sunday and advised me to maintain cleanliness and taste and not to spoil name the of their leader [Ramya].”
Mr. Raghu says he will provide rice, idli, vada, ragi balls, rava idli and varieties of dosa at a cost of ₹10 per plate. ‘Kumari Ramya Canteen’ is one of the affordable food-joints in town. There are many affordable canteens in Mandya, Street Vendors’ Association president M.B. Naganna said.
Ms. Ramya, the All India Congress Committee’s social media cell president, had won the byelection for the Mandya Lok Sabha Constituency in 2013.
