Women-run Mahila Shakti Canteens in Kothagudem close due to lack of support

Fourteen of 20 Indira Mahila Shakti Canteens in Kothagudem have shut due to lack of government support. Women entrepreneurs faced losses, debt and poor facilities as officials failed to ensure bank loans and basic amenities for their business operations

Kothagudem: A lack of support from authorities has made Indira Mahila Shakti Canteens set up in Kothagudem ineffective, forcing 14 out of 20 such canteens to shut down.

The Indira Mahila Shakti Scheme was launched by the Congress government to provide self-employment to women by offering bank loans. As part of the scheme, members of women Self-Help Groups were encouraged to set up canteens to serve food to the public at affordable prices. The previous BRS government had built a street vendor zone with 20 shops near the Government General Hospital in the town with Rs 20 lakh from municipal general funds. After the Congress party came to power, it modified the shops and allocated them to SHG members to run canteens, assuring loans under the scheme.

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Initially, the women took loans from private lenders and started business activities even though the State government did not provide any credit facilities. They prepared breakfast, bread omelette, fast food items like noodles, chicken pakodas, pickles, chapattis and other dishes. But the canteens failed to attract enough customers and many women lost the money they invested. The women running the canteens complained that they were not able to earn even Rs 500 a day.

As a result, they were unable to pay the interest on the loans they had taken. Out of 20 shops, only six are running now while the rest have closed as the officials concerned failed to ensure financial assistance from banks. Moreover, those who were running the canteens have been facing difficulties due to lack of drinking water and electricity. But the officials of MEPMA and Kothagudem Municipal Corporation did not address the issues.

When Municipal Commissioner K Sujatha was asked about the problems being faced by the women operating the canteens, she said she would talk to them to find out the issues and take steps to help them run the canteens as usual.