Chennai, Apr 26 () Started as a pioneering scheme to offer meals at highly subsidised prices, the Amma Canteens inTamil Nadu have turned out to be the saviour during theCOVID-19 national lockdown, helping all sections, includingguest workers, truck drivers and even the middle class. Though largely the working classes, including migrantworkers, and the indigent people, depend on Amma Canteens, apet scheme of late chief minister Jayalalithaa, now these havecome as a boon to several others who are feeling the pinch ofthe lockdown with pay cuts and loss of jobs.
What'smore, the ruling AIADMK has started bearing thecost of the food served by the canteens in several cities andtowns, making it free for the customers.
Of the 650 plus Amma Canteens, run by local bodies,scattered across the state, Chennai alone has 407, over twothirds, and dish out idlies for breakfast, variety rice forlunch and chapathis for dinner and have come in forappreciation for the quality. "I had a wrong impression previously that the food qualityhere is not good. But actually it is good and on par withother eateries. During these times of financial distress, AmmaCanteens are a boon," a young man, who lost his informationtechnology job a few months ago, said.
The man turned up with tiffin boxes to take home food atthe city's Madipakkam locality where a large number of peoplethronged the canteen on Sunday, which also happened to be thefirst day of the four-day complete shutdown announced by thegovernment in major cities, including Chennai, to check spreadof the coronavirus.
With the government announcing that all shops wouldremain closed during the four days, only the Amma Canteens,named so after Jayalalithaa, fondly called by her supportersas "Amma" (mother), were abuzz with activity.
A variety of people such as truck drivers, guest workers,and also men and women from middle and upper middle classescould be seen arriving to eat or take food home as stafferswere busy cooking and cleaning up. As a mini-truck arrived at one such eatery in thesprawling but empty Madipakkam bus terminus on Sundayafternoon, the driver and another man got down from thevehicle hurriedly and walked up to the outlet and asked if"anything" was available to eat. When pat came the reply, "only sambar and curd rice rightnow" the duo was apparently relieved as it was not availableanywhere else.
Usually, the Amma canteens do not offer take away but itis now allowed. A V Ganesan, a priest in a small local temple, said hewas happy that Amma canteens were open. "The LPG cylinder in my home has gone dry and this canteenis close to my home, and I can eat or take home food," hesaid.
Free food was now a boon since many like him, who work intemples. have virtually no income, he added. In another locality, a couple of women and children, partof a group of street performers from Chattisgarh, are visuallyrelieved that the canteens are serving food free during thelockdown. "These are very tough times for us as there is no incomeand the canteens are no doubt a boon, it is a boon," a youngmother of two children said in a mixture of broken Tamil andHindi. In fact, it is a repeat of such scenes in several areas ofthe city and especially in north Chennai which has a sizablechunk of labour class population. At one such canteen in Vyasarpadi, people could be seenstanding in serpentine queues on Sunday, but maintainingsocial distancing. An Inter-Ministerial Central Team to assess the COVID-19situation in Tamil Nadu also visited a canteen on KamarajarSalai here. An official told that a special fund allocation of Rs19.54 crore has been made for Chennai Corporation AmmaCanteens and as a whole Rs 31.39 crore has been earmarked forall the eateries in the state. In Chennai alone 4.5 lakh people eat food at the canteensevery day while the rest of the state sees about 6.25 lakhfootfall. Since the start of the lockdown period, over 140.38 lakhidlis, 53.24 lakh rice items, and 37.85 lakh pieces ofchappathis have been distributed, benefiting about 85 lakhpeople, the official said.
Launched by Jayalalithaa years ago, the canteens offeridlis at a cost of Rs one each, two pieces of roti at Rs 3,Pongal Rs 5 and rice varieties including sambar, lemon andcurd at Rs 5 a plate. Now the food is being offered free of cost with theAIADMK's local units footing the bill in major cities ofChennai, Salem and Coimbatore besides some other places inview of the lockdown.
In Salem, the home district of Chief Minister KPalaniswami in western Tamil Nadu, eggs are being served freein addition to the regular menu, officials said.
The state governments of Karnataka and Rajasthan hadlaunched Indira Canteens and Annapurna Rasoi respectivelyinspired by the Amma Canteens. Across Tamil Nadu, there are 658 Amma Canteens, includingaround 250 outside Chennai under 14 corporations and 121municipalities.
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