The Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, on Friday laid the foundation stone of the first “Atal” canteen in the Timarpur area, marking the fulfilment of a key promise made by the BJP.
The Delhi Government has planned to open 100 such canteens, named after the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with an aim to provide affordable meals to underprivileged people.
These canteens will provide freshly prepared, nutritious meals to the needy for just Rs 5. The inauguration of the first Atal canteen will take place on December 25, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The programme was attended by Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari, Delhi Government’s Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood, local MLA Surya Prakash Khatri, along with a large number of residents and dignitaries.
The initiative is an example of the BJP Government’s respect for the working-class families, the Chief Minister said. Referring to the decades-long neglect of the capital’s slum clusters, the Chief Minister noted that previous Governments had failed to address their basic needs.
In contrast, the present Government has, for the first time, made a special provision of Rs 700 crore for the development of slum areas.
She said that roads, drains, toilets, parks, community health centres and shared community facilities in these settlements are being rapidly upgraded.
Opening Atal canteens across the national capital was one of the poll promises of the BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls held in February this year.
The Chief Minister, later in a post on X, said, “In just eight months, a strong step has been taken to fulfil another promise made with Delhi. An extensive network of 100 Atal canteens will be set up in the capital so that this facility easily and timely reaches every needy person.”
Speaking on the occasion, Sood said that the foundation stone of the Atal Canteen is dedicated to the principle of Antyodaya upliftment of the last person in society, propounded by Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.