The average number of plates assigned to Indira Canteens in each ward has become a pointer to where the most demand for the subsidised food is. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has witnessed a stark contrast in the numbers.
The canteen in Dharmarayaswamy Temple ward — near K.R. Market — has the maximum demand, followed by canteens in Gandhinagara, Garudacharpalya and Marathahalli wards. Location appears to play an important role, though the BBMP is yet to analyse what makes which canteen click.
Meal-wise though, breakfast and lunch are much more popular than dinner, the quantity of which is the least in almost all 151 canteens opened so far.
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Staff at the canteens face different kinds of challenges. One explained how tokens of different colours were given for each meal when they found out that some people would buy a token for breakfast (cost ₹5) and use it during lunch (₹10).
Crowd management is an issue in some canteens. “We are eight people in all (a cashier, a supervisor, four to serve, two to do the dishes), and the security guard is from another agency. But we could use more help,” said an employee at one of the more crowded canteens in central Bengaluru.
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People complaining about the quantity of food is common. “I eat here when I visit the market. The quantity is not much. But it is much cheaper than the hotels,” said Venkatappa, a resident of Rajajinagar.
But staff say they are serving meals as per the brief given to them. “If there are idlis, we have been asked to give three in each plate. For the lunch, we have to give 300 grams of the rice item, or white rice, and 100 grams of curd rice,” said one of them.
BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said increasing or decreasing the staff strength in the canteens is the call of the caterers to whom the palike has given the contract. He, however, defended the quantity of food and said it had been ‘arrived upon scientifically’.
“The important point is that the canteens are finally catering to who they were meant for now. Initially, everyone wanted to test it out of curiosity. But now, it is trickling down to people who really need it,” said Mr. Prasad, who, during his visit to the canteen in Radhakrishna Temple ward on Friday morning, discovered that many autorickshaw drivers are now completely dependent on the canteens in various parts of the city.
Mobile canteens
The BBMP’s plan to launch mobile canteens for some wards, which are facing paucity of land, is taking shape. Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said officials have already started looking at vehicles and designs.
“It will take a month-and-a-half to get all the vehicles ready. As of now, we are looking at a January 1 launch for 18 canteens,” he said.