Indira Amma Bhojanalay, the State Government-sponsored cheap canteen, which has recently come up at HNB Complex near Clock Tower in Dehradun, is running into problems on several counts. Dwelling on them, Puja Dwivedi, president of Rajlakshmi self-help group (SHG) which is running the canteen, said that the number of workers being 10 is making things tough. “For instance, rolling the dough is proving difficult. Making rotis is taking time. This is why we are switching to pooris instead of rotis for lunch. Things would go this way till the time we manage to collect a machine for making chapatties. The order has been placed and hopefully, we would have it in a day or two,” she said.
She further said that they require the service of some male workers for things like cleaning heavy and large- sized utensils. “Another problem we are facing is the crunch of space to clean the bowls. The workers are taking them outside to clean. Besides, we do not have a right kind of counter to cater to the increasing number of customers. The people have to wait for their turn-a sight not good from the point of view of business and the like,” she said.
“In the beginning, food was being wasted much. The waste used to be disposed into the bin. Now, we are planning to distribute it among the inmates of Cheshire Home and Rain Basera,” Dwivedi said.
Grocery or the food stuff used per day here is around 50-80 kgs of rice, two containers of refined oil, 50 kgs of potatoes , 25 kgs of daal and 25 -30 kgs of green vegetables. “Rice is cooked twice while daal once a day. This is enough for 700-800 people who turn up for meals. The rush reaches its crescendo between 1:00 pm to 3:00pm,” she said.
She further said most of the shopkeepers and workers from Indira market lunch here daily.
Corroborating the view, one of the traders dealing with readymade garments, Pradeep Topwal said the quality of the food being served in the canteen was good. “The quantity is sufficient too. Earlier, we used to take lunch box from home. It is saving time now. More importantly, the price is extremely pocket- friendly ,” he said.
A MDDA parking boy Deepak echoed the same, saying that aside from the nearby traders, many others are coming there for food with families. “The number of students having lunch is on the rise. People from other states are also taking increasing interest,” he said.
Vijay Sing Rawat who is a member Parivar Kalyan Vibhag of Doon Hospital was also all praise for the canteen and the cheap and tasty food it is serving.