Annapurna Scheme: GHMC initiative provides ‘free meals’ for the poor

With over 200 centres in Hyderabad alone, Annapurna Food Scheme is the first such initiative by any government in Telangana

Hyderabad: The simple and straight principle that not even one person anywhere in Telangana should go hungry, something that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has always stressed upon, is now behind one of the biggest free public feeding programmes in the country.

What began as Rs 5-a-meal scheme is now Annapurna Food Scheme, served across more than 200 centres in Hyderabad alone, sating the hunger of over 50,000 people at noon and about 20,000 people at night.

For the under-privileged, the poor on the streets and daily wage labourers across the city, having a full meal during lunch was once a dream, but not anymore in Telangana. The scheme, run under the aegis of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), ensures hygienic and safe food, comprising a vegetable curry, sambar, curd and pickle besides rice, and is the first such scheme by any government in Telangana.

The GHMC launched the scheme in Hyderabad with eight centres in 2014 and has now expanded across the city through the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation. Prior to the lockdown, the meals were offered for Rs 5 a plate. But during the lockdown, the Chief Minister found that many migrant labourers among others did not have any access to food, following which the GHMC began offering the meals for free.

From only lunch, the scheme went into twice a day mode, with dinner also being offered for free. The lockdown saw GHMC serving more than five crore meals.

The Annapurna meal scheme has not only turned out to be a boon for daily wage earners but also to students who cannot afford meals in hotels. This was proved during the lockdown when each day, 1.5 lakh meals were served, 90,000 for lunch and 60,000 for dinner.

The government plans to extend the number of centres to meet the rising demand.

13,000-kg rice cooked every day

The Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation operates two kitchens at Narsingi and Kandi for preparing the meals to be distributed through the Annapurna canteens. Every day, around 13,000 kg of rice, 8,000 kg of vegetables and 1,500 kg of dal is used for preparing the food.

Both these kitchens have the capacity to prepare two lakh meals a day and the personnel start their work early in the day to prepare food. At Narsingi, the kitchen is being operated in two shifts to prepare meals for lunch and dinner. Most of the meals are prepared from this kitchen.

The Kandi kitchen is equipped to prepare 1.5 lakh meals a day and it is used as the demand increases.

All the vessels used for preparing the food are sterilised at high temperature and special Covid-19 safety officers have been appointed to monitor the preparation and to ensure that safety guidelines are being followed by workers in the kitchens.

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