TD-Led Government to Restart Anna Canteens within 3 Weeks

 Vijayawada: Municipal administration and urban development minister Ponguru Narayana underlined that the TD-led alliance government is taking measures to restart Anna canteens within three weeks, fulfilling Telugu Desam Party's election promise.

He announced that around 100 Anna canteens will start providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for just Rs 5 each.

The minister spoke to media after holding a review meeting on restoration of Anna canteens with officials of the municipal department on Sunday morning at the Velagapudi state secretariat.

He pointed out that the file to restart Anna canteens had been among the first five files signed by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

The previous Telugu Desam government had planned to establish 203 Anna canteens. Between 2014 and 2019, it opened 184 canteens, while 19 canteens remained under construction.

Narayana said the previous YSRC government shut down the Anna canteens which, in a pleasant atmosphere, provided tiffin, lunch and dinner for just Rs 5 each at all prominent centres across Andhra Pradesh.

The minister said officials have been ordered to submit estimates within two to three days to carry out necessary repairs for restoring the premises in which Anna canteens had earlier been located.

Narayana said in the past, the responsibility of managing Anna canteens had been with ISKCON. The spiritual organisation charged Rs 73 for serving three meals a day. But through Anna canteens, it started providing three meals a day for only Rs 15. State government reimbursed ISKCON the remaining Rs 58 as a subsidy.

The minister pointed out that 2.25 lakh people ate three meals at Anna canteens every day. During TD’s earlier tenure, total of 4,60,31,600 plates of food had been served through Anna canteens, he recalled.

Anna canteens had first been set up in municipal areas. Narayana said many legislators, who noticed public utilising these canteens, requested Chandrababu Naidu to set up Anna canteens in rural areas too. This led to 150 more Anna canteens being allotted to rural areas as well.