Starting Sunday, civic officials have been asked to carry out surface cleaning at all public buildings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But several of the 407 canteens remain unclean due to poor maintenance.
The canteens, serving thousands of poor people, do not have adequate manpower to keep its premises clean. For example, even after the Corporation announced mass cleaning of all buildings on Sunday morning, workers failed to visit the canteen in Egmore to disinfect its surfaces.
“We do not have adequate manpower at our Amma canteen. Many workers are no longer on the rolls. There are no new appointments,” said a worker.
According to estimates, the number of workers in many Amma canteens has reduced by more than 40%. The footfall in Amma canteens continues to come down at an alarming rate. The risk of COVID-19 is expected to affect services at the Amma canteens in the coming days.
Former Chennai Corporation Councillor S. Mangala Raj said the number of people visiting the canteen on Santhome High Road had reduced by more than 50%.
Formerly popular
The canteen was the first facility to be inaugurated by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and has remained the most popular one in the city.
“The canteen used to have many beneficiaries. On Sunday, only a few people were found visiting the canteen. There has been a decline in the number of visitors,” he said.
Former Chennai Corporatiom Council Floor Leader V. Sukumar Babu said that the maintenance of Amma canteens had been poor and many of the canteens are dirty.
Canteens that reported sales of ₹8,000 a day during the tenure of Jayalalithaa have been reporting less than ₹2,000 sales now. The quality of food in the canteen has also been poor, as procurement of vegetables has reduced, he said.
“We used to get 5 kg of pumpkin, 10 kg of tomato and 15 kg of other vegetables, a few years ago, from Revenue officials. Now the Health officials, who supply the vegetables, supply us just 500 g of pumpkin and are asking us to use it for two days,” said an employee.
The decline of Amma canteens has been creating a scare among women belonging to self-help groups (SHGs).
The number of visitors to the largest Amma canteen in the city, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, has also reduced.
The number of beneficiaries exceeded 12,000 a day in the beginning. On Sunday, less than 100 visitors were reported at the canteen.
Many of the 86 canteen workers on the rolls at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital during its launch have left.
Officials are yet to take initiatives to prevent the attrition rate of women staff, boost the morale of workers and improve the quality of food at the canteens.
Kodambakkam resident J. Madan said that the food was unpalatable in the canteen in his area. “We used to have breakfast and dinner at the Amma canteen. We have stopped visiting the canteen now,” he said.
Slum resettlement
The number of visitors to many of the Amma canteens in areas near the banks of the Cooum and the Adyar rivers has also reduced because of resettlement of slums in the area.
The turnover in these canteens is less than the daily wages paid to the workers. According to estimates, the number of beneficiaries has reduced from 3.5 lakh to less than a lakh a day in the canteens.
“We will identify such canteens and explore alternatives to revive them. Welfare measures will continue to reach the poor,” said an official.
