amma's canteen

8/13/2019 Amma's Canteen

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The canteens were inaugurated by chief minister Jayalalithaa on February 19 as part of a pilot scheme tocater to the needs of the lower strata of society andmigrant workers

No wonder, it has turned out to be a huge hit

Initially, 15 such joints - one in each zone of the citycorporation - were opened.

Present 127 wards Expected to reach 200



Quality nutritious food at subsidized prices.

Amma Unavagam (Tamil:அம உணவக) -

literal translation: "Mom's Restaurant" - is a foodsubsidization program, enacted by the Tamil Nadustate government, in India. Under this scheme, thestate's municipal corporations run canteens serving

food, mainly Idlis, Sambar Rice and Curd rice at lowprices



Under the scheme, the corporations, with the help ofself-help groups, establish canteens at various places ina city and sell food at very low prices, as low as Re.1 foran Idli, and Rs. 3 per plate of Sambar Rice or Curd

Rice. The menu is also expanded to include Pongal,Tamarind rice, or curry leaf rice and Chapathi. Thecanteens are also planned to be solar-powered. Ammaunavagam was opened in all the 200 wards of ChennaiCorporation and the first 15 Tiffin centers wereinaugurated by the Chief Minister on February 19. Aspart of the first phase of operations, these centerscovered all the 15 zones of the civic body



Offering food at subsidized rated under the scheme will incur the Corporations loss (for example, it wasreported that in Coimbatore, the loss would be Rs.2.64 for an idli , Rs. 9.73 for a unit of sambar rice andRs. 4.44 for a unit of curd rice, incurring a total of Rs.2.70 crore a year on the Corporation ) and the releaseof funds to this scheme was opposed in Tirunelveli. Also, concerns were raised on the effect these

corporation canteens will have on pushcart eateries, who cannot compete with the prices offered by thecanteens.



Chennai has a population of 65 lakh, 15% of which isbelow the poverty line. That's nearly 10 lakh people who can benefit from the subsidised food. "People,especially the homeless who don't even have a place tocook, have benefited from the Amma canteens,“

. It is second to none in quality and taste

preparation is hygienic

Managed by women SHGs, these canteens functionfor three hours in the morning (7am to 10am) and atnoon (12pm to 3pm),



But the implementation of the scheme comes with acost with every canteen incurring Rs 7,419 per day which will escalate into Rs 2.22 lakh per month and Rs27 lakhs per annum. It is estimated that all tencanteens will incur Rs 2.7 crore recurring loss andanother Rs 2.5 crore as capital loss, thus costing thecorporation Rs 5.2 crore every year for running theplanned ten canteens. The return from the canteens

has been estimated to Rs 1.29 crore hence the net lossto corporation will be Rs 3.91 crores.



Idli sambar at Rs 1 per idli

lunch menu consisting of sambar rice (price Rs 5) andcurd rice at Rs 3, has made the state's staple meals

affordable for all.

After all, if you have Rs 13 in your pocket, you can havetwo square meals a day.



Edwin, who works as a security guard in a commercialcomplex on Anna Salai, has been a regular at the AmmaEatery near SIET College for over two weeks now. 'I earnaround Rs 10,000 a month, and because I can have two

affordable meals daily, I am able to spend more on my son'scollege education,' he says.



Ravi, a computer operator, lives in Villivakkam but his work takeshim all over the city.

'Earlier I would have had to spend Rs 60 to Rs 70 on a lunch at a

street vendor's. But now I am able to eat hot, clean food which isnot very expensive,' he says, pointing out to the carrots,drumsticks and other vegetables in his sambar rice at theUnavagam in Teynampet.

'Today, when even basic vegetables like onion and potato areexpensive and beyond reach, budget canteen is a boon for people

like us and entire families can eat better,' he says.



"On an average, each canteen offers 1,700 idlis besides300 curd rice and 400 sambar rice," she discloses

Most of the public tell this concept is economicdiffuser



Recently they have launched mineral water withamma’s as brand name for Rs 10 per liter

amma's canteen

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