Hard idlis to watery sambar: Indira Canteens battle resource constraint

Bengaluru: Hailed once as a lifeline for the urban poor, Indira Canteens of Bengaluru are now battling complaints of poor food quality, staff shortages and crumbling infrastructure.A visit to several Indira Canteens across the city revealed a worrying picture — watery sambar, undersized portions, locked toilets and erratic water supply were commonplace.
Launched in 2017 to provide affordable meals – Rs 5 for breakfast and Rs 10 for lunch and dinner – the canteens cater to thousands of customers daily. As per guidelines, a breakfast should weigh 225 grams and meals 300 grams. However, customers allege these standards are rarely met.Bengaluru has 198 Indira Canteens out of which 169 are operational and 29 suspended.At the Rajajinagar canteen, regular customer and daily wage worker Manjunath Gowda said, "We come here even now only because it is affordable. But idlis are often hard, and sambar is watery. For Rs 10, we don't expect luxury, but at least basic quality should be maintained."Rajanna Byali, a sanitation worker and another regular customer at KR Market canteen, echoed similar concerns. Hailing from Bidar, Rajanna came in search of work in Bengaluru and worked with BBMP (now GBA) for over two years. "Sometimes the rice is undercooked, and the vegetables are very few. Still, we eat because we cannot afford hotels," he said."We have a canteen inside the GBA building, but the challenge is that we are not always around the GBA head office. When I head out, I search for the nearest canteen, but find that most of them are poorly maintained and their food quality is poor. It is a challenge for us to cook three meals a day at home because of time and cost factors. But swallowing the morsel that is served here is painful."The cooking staff say they are stretched thin. Shobha Murthy, who has been working at the Chalavadi Palya canteen for six years, said, "We cook and serve hundreds every day with very limited staff. If one person is absent, the whole system struggles. We try our best, but resources are not enough."She added, "Some days, our provisions also get exhausted, and then we are forced to collect money amongst ourselves, get provisions and cook food because we do not want to send people away without food. Unfortunately, the corporation does not release our salaries on time."Water supply is another major challenge at most canteens TOI visited. At Chalavadi Palya, Cauvery water is unavailable and tankers supply water intermittently. "The motor pump does not work properly. We draw water manually from the sump using buckets. How long can this continue?" wondered Ramesh GK, a kitchen helper.At the Dharmarayaswamy temple ward canteen, staff admitted to hygiene issues as a foul smell from a nearby garbage dumping ground is overwhelming throughout the day."People do not want to come here because of the foul smell. To top it up, there is a lack of proper handwashing facilities because there is no water supply, and water often trickles out of the taps, irking the customers," said a helper, requesting anonymity.Adding to the inconvenience, none of the canteens visited had digital payment facilities. "Even roadside vendors accept UPI. Why can't Indira Canteen?" said Arif Khan, an auto driver who eats at the Indira Canteen in Banashankari.GBA chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao said, "The Indira Canteens are handled by the respective city corporations, and they are working towards improving the state of affairs. However, all issues will be addressed."