Lakhs of Taxpayers Money Spent on Ads on ‘Indira Canteen’ Launch

Lakhs of Taxpayers Money Spent on Ads on ‘Indira Canteen’ Launch

“Even a simple breakfast or a lunch is a necessity many can’t afford – but a mega advertisement in a Daily only the government can afford (using tax payers money?)

Mangaluru: If you happen to open all the leading National newspapers available in Karnataka, you would find full page advertisements costing few lakhs or probably crores, just to announce the inauguration of “Indira Canteens’ in Bangalore, where you can buy a breakfast for Rs 5, and lunch for Rs 10. But why would government spent so much money on publicity and also on inaugural ceremony-which is a one day publicity stunt, on a project aimed mostly for the benefit of poor and common class people. Do we really need full page ads in all these newspapers at the cost of tax payers money – really doesn’t make any sense. The same money spent on these ads could have been used for a good cause- or on improving more facilities at these canteens. Absolutely a dumb idea! A few ministers/government officials probably got a cut from the ad agency on this project- like it is happening even in Mangaluru, when a new street is set to be inaugurated or a mega project is planned- big hoardings are put up costing a fortune. Politicians and ad agencies seems like they go hand in hand in all these affairs.

Like a message from CM Siddaramaiah in the ad states, ” I know about hunger very well. In my hometown I have seen the people begging for a few morsels of food. Therefore, I implemented the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme so that nobody suffers from hunger. To ensure that poor students in schools and colleges do not have to study on an empty stomach, I provided them with the facilities of free food and hostel. Now, we have started “Indira Canteen” so that poor people, especially labourers and daily wage workers, do not have to go hungry. If we can satisfy their hunger our efforts will be successful”. Okay, well said by the CM and I commend him for his efforts, but what was the need to spend lavishly on these mega advertisements to promote a canteen selling food for cheap for the poor and lower class community. Simply senseless- anyways, it’s too late now, no fun crying over spilled milk? However it was indeed foolish to spend such a big amount on publicity. Oh well!

Anyways, sources reveal that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi inaugurated first “Indira Canteen”, aimed at serving the poor, in Jayanagar, Bengaluru in the presence of CM Siddaramaiah and other cabinet ministers and VIP’s., today, 16 August 2017. Rahul Gandhi, who had the first breakfast at the canteen in Jayanagar, said ‘Indira Canteens’ would serve the migrants who came to Bengaluru with a dream to build something. “No person in Bengaluru should ever go hungry and the canteens are a great means towards it,” he said, asking the government to give much attention to cleanliness and taste. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Indira Canteens was a continuation of the Congress’s commitment to a hunger-free Karnataka.

CM had further said, “We started Anna Bhagya scheme by giving 7 kg of rice free to over 4 crore people the very day we came to power. To its credit, the scheme is stemming mass migration from our villages despite severe drought in the last three years. Not a single hunger related death has been reported in the State despite severe drought. Indira Canteens is only a continuation of that programme. This programme would be extended to all district centres across the State. Only those who knew hunger would know its pain and opposition by the rich and those who do not understand hunger was irrelevant. “Those who oppose the programme are anti-poor and anti-downtrodden.”

Responding to criticism on naming the canteens after Indira Gandhi, he said the canteens were aptly named after the leader who gave a rousing call to the nation in 1971 to eradicate poverty: “garibi hathao.” That was her response to her opponents calling for “Indira hathao.” ”Our response to our opponents is also similar.” The Chief Minister came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Demonetization had failed to help the poor. “From the past three years it’s only his Mann ki Baat that’s going on. Our’s is vangibaat for the poor,” he said.

It is learnt that 101 Indira Canteens will begin serving affordable food to citizens across Bengaluru. However, this will be 24 canteens less than the 125 canteens that the BBMP had hoped to set up. The canteens will initially be supplied by six kitchens which are ready to serve 5,000 to 6,000 plates of food every day. Eventually, the number of kitchens will increase to 14. The canteens will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at prices as low as Rs 5 and Rs10. This is possible with a subsidy by the government of around Rs32 per person for all three meals.

The canteens will feature a display board counting down the number of plates sold so that people will not have to stand in line only to find out that the food is exhausted. Currently, the canteens will serve 500 plates of food as part of their budgetary allocation and this is likely to be increased in the future. The kitchens will have features like mechanized steam based cooking while the canteens will have mechanized cleaning of plates. The kitchens will cost around Rs1 crore each while the canteens will cost Rs 28.5 lakh for each one. Did someone mention “Its not Governments Money, it’s Tax Payers Money?