Vijayawada: Municipal administration and urban development minister Ponguru Narayana said the Telugu Desam-led NDA alliance government led by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu will start Anna Canteens throughout Andhra Pradesh from August 15, offering food at a nominal price of ₹5.
Addressing a press meet at the state secretariat in Velagapudi of Amaravati on Thursday, the minister pointed out that during its previous tenure, the TD government had opened 183 canteens in all parts of the state. These canteens supplied food to 2.25 lakh people every day for just ₹5.
However, after the YSRC government came to power, it closed all Anna Canteens. It used the premises of Anna Canteens to run offices of ward secretariats or as storage rooms.
Narayana said all Anna Canteens are expected to be ready by August 10, so that they can start serving subsidised food from August 15.
He pointed out that in the past, Akshaya Patra Sansthan used to supply very good quality food through the Anna Canteens. He said tenders for supplying food in the same manner and at the same rates have also been approved and they will start supplying food from July 22.
The minister conferred with commissioners of 106 municipalities and 17 municipal corporations of the state through a video conference and ordered them to take strong measures to prevent the spread of communicable diseases during the current rainy season.
He said this season, more cases of diarrhoea have been recorded in Lenin Nagar and Maruti Nagar of Piduguralla municipality because people of these areas ended up drinking contaminated water after underground pipes carrying drinking water and sewage had developed leakages. People developed diarrhoea after drinking this contaminated water.
However, the supply of drinking water from seven motor wells has been temporarily stopped for undertaking repairs. People have been requested to drink only boiled water while the working on repairing pipelines is in full swing, Narayana stated.
