The Kudumbashree district mission plans to open 30 more of the popular Janakeeya hotels in the district, 10 of them by December.
The mission currently runs 70 Janakeeya hotels in the district – 13 in urban areas and 57 in rural areas. Of them, 52 have been newly set up, while 18 have been converted from Kudumbashree cafes and the like.
The Janakeeya hotels, started with the aim of providing affordable food to the needy, receive good footfall. On an average, each hotel sells 1,000 food packets a day, say Kudumbashree officials. Ananthapuri Cafe, the Janakeeya hotel at Overbridge, sells more than 1,000 food parcels daily.
In Neyyattinkara and Nedumangad municipalities, the demand was so high that additional ones had to be sanctioned. Neyyattinkara has four such hotels now.
The property rent, electricity and water charges for the hotels are borne by the local self-government institutions. The Kudumbashree gives a subsidy of ₹2 lakh to a hotel a month on an average to ensure quality of food.
The hotels give at least four curries in a food parcel, which cost ₹20-25. Special dishes that units choose to provide may cost extra. Home delivery too is made in areas where the demand is more.
Training for staff
There are plans to provide on-the-job training to the units once the lockdown restrictions are removed. The training had to be postponed when the lockdown was announced earlier in the year. The 10-member unit that runs the Janakeeya hotel near Overbridge has received the training, besides being followed-up for two months, say officials.
The Janakeeya hotels were a lifeline for many during the extended lockdown and the triple lockdown later.
Kudumbashree officials say they hope that by the time the pandemic ends, they will be able to open 100 Janakeeya hotels in the district, though the government’s target is 80. The plan is to continue to operate these hotels in future with the support of the people so that no one goes hungry, says Kudumbashree district mission coordinator K.R. Shaiju.
