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Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami Tuesday slammed the ruling DMK government for “poor maintenance” of Amma Unavagam (Amma canteens), and urged Chief Minister M K Stalin to allocate the requisite fund for the AIADMK’s flagship programme.
Palaniswami said former chief minister and AIADMK supremo the late J Jayalalithaa introduced the Amma canteens in 2013 with a noble intention to relieve the hunger of the poor and downtrodden. He said there are about 400 such canteens in Chennai, with at least two per ward in the city and general hospitals, selling all the food items at a subsidised price.
He said Amma canteens hugely benefited the public during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns. He alleged that since the DMK came to power in 2021, amma canteens had been attacked, and the government had been taking measures to shut them down.
The AIADMK leader claimed, as per media reports, 90 per cent of the raw food materials supplied to Amma canteens had been stopped, and the staff strength reduced. He said the footfall had taken a hit as the food quality had gone down.
Palaniswami claimed that the infrastructure is in terrible condition in many canteens. Refrigerators needed to be fixed, and there were complaints about officials not cleaning water tanks at the canteens for the past two years, he alleged. The AIADMK leader said the people were expressing their angst comparing the conditions of Amma canteens before and after 2021.
“During the 2023-24 budget, the Chennai Corporation claimed that due to the functioning of Amma canteens, the civic body suffered a loss of Rs 120 crore. I learned through the media that this year they allocated Rs 42.30 crore for providing salaries to the workers and Rs 9.65 for revamping buildings and procuring materials for the kitchen. That will not be sufficient for maintaining canteens,” Palaniswami said.
“I strongly condemn the DMK government for taking measures to close the Amma canteens by allocating less funds. They should allocate the required amount to provide a facelift to Amma canteens,” he added.
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