Congress MLA visits 9 Indira Canteens, alleges scam in billing
The Congress MLA reportedly said that during his visit to the nine Indira Canteens in his constituency, he found that the number of patrons who had breakfast and lunch there declined drastically. There were less than 100 people consuming food there.
Bengaluru: A Congress MLA alleged that there were anomalies in the billing of the food in Indira Canteens on Friday. The setting up of Indira Canteens was one of the high-profile schemes established by the previous state government.
Rajarajeshwari MLA Munirathna Naidu raised the issue in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) council meeting. He demanded an inspection of the canteens established across the city. He claimed that the number of customers in the canteens have reduced drastically. He said that this could be the result of the poor quality of food being served at the canteens, reports said.
The Congress MLA reportedly said that during his visit to the nine Indira Canteens in his constituency, he found that the number of patrons who had breakfast and lunch there had declined drastically. There were less than 100 people eating there. He demanded the BBMP to float tenders to find new contractors to run the canteens, reports said.
He found support in the BJP. Umesh Shetty, Govindarajanagar councillor reportedly said that apart from the quality of food, there is a huge problem in billing as well. The MLA, recently, had food from the canteens tested by two laboratories.
Bengaluru mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun reportedly asked all the MLAs to take a decision on the new tenders that need to be floated in order to enhance the quality of the food served in the canteens.
Former chief minister Siddharamaiah announced the initiative of Indira Canteens in his budget in March 2017. The first 101 canteens were inaugurated on August 16, 2017. Currently there are static canteens in 171 wards in BBMP limits. There are mobile canteens in 17 wards as well.