26 Apr, 2014

BANGALORE: Karnataka government is in talks with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to open food kiosks in Bangalore on the lines of what Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has done in Tamil Nadu. The kiosks will sell cooked food at affordable prices. "We are in discussion with the Foundation, and we may start these stalls at about 15 places in Bangalore initially, and then expand to other urban areas, based on our experience," Food Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, told ET.

The government, however , has no plans to go on a big scale like Tamil Nadu. The food kiosks, the minister said, will come up at places like government hospitals, railway station, bus stands etc. "We will go for places where there is a huge floating population ," Rao added. Though the idea has been in the air for a month or two now, the government had put it on the backburner in view of the model code of conduct on the eve of the April 17 Lok Sabha polls. The government , the minister added, was keen that these kiosks will only sell, and not cook the food inside. That is why it is talking to the Akshaya Patra which has acquired enormous competence in the area.

The Foundation currently supplies 1.39 million meals to 10,631 schools across nine states. By teaming up with the Foundation, the Food department hopes to ensure hygiene and keep costs under control. Foundation Vice Chairman Chanchalapathi Dasa , however, was not available for a comment. In Karnataka, once the programme picks up, the government is planning to seek the Centre's aid to fund the scheme. Karnataka, however, is yet to coin a name for its version of the canteens. In fact, there is one such canteen already functioning at Kalasipalyam in Bangalore for the past two months, started by KR Krishna Raju, an ardent follower of Jayalalithaa and a former AIADMK Karnataka unit Secretary. The canteen functions on Sundays selling Idlis at Re 1 apiece. Raju also met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last month, and urged him to start similar canteens across Karnataka. "At current prices of food items in Bangalore , workers earning low wages , auto drivers etc, cannot afford the hotel food," he  said.

The Amma Canteens sells Idlis at Re 1, and pongal/rice items at prices between Rs 3 and Rs 5. There are about 200 such canteens functioning in Chennai alone, and another 100 canteens in rest of Tamil Nadu. Civic bodies like Chennai Municipal Corporation run these canteens with the help of selfhelp groups.