The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is set to revamp its Annapurna Rs 5 meal centres, renaming them as Indiramma Canteens. This decision was approved by the GHMC Standing Committee in a meeting held on Thursday. The revamped scheme will not only continue to provide meals at ₹5 per plate but will also introduce breakfast at the same price.
The initiative aims to provide affordable and nutritious food to the city's underprivileged population. The Annapurna canteens were initially launched by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. The Congress government is now rebranding these canteens as Indiramma Canteens, drawing inspiration from similar initiatives like the one in Karnataka.
In addition to renaming the canteens, the GHMC plans to renovate existing structures at 11 locations with permanent seating and construct new structures at 139 locations. Specifically, 40x10 ft structures will be built at 40 locations, and 20x10 ft structures at 99 locations.
The GHMC is also planning to introduce a breakfast scheme next month, serving it initially at 128 existing Annapurna centers. The breakfast menu will include a rotating selection of items like idli, upma, pongal, and puri, ensuring a different item each day. Additional items like dosa and uthappam may be added in the future. While each breakfast plate costs ₹19, the GHMC will subsidize ₹14, with the customer paying the remaining ₹5. The Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation, which currently supplies food to the Annapurna canteens, is expected to continue its services for the breakfast scheme.
The GHMC Standing Committee has also approved several other proposals, including:
Furthermore, the committee has recommended awarding the work for the 'Hyderabad Sculpture Park' around the KBR walkway in Jubilee Hills under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in partnership with the Krishnakriti Foundation.