Karwar: The construction of the building to open an ‘Indira Canteen’ is going on in full swing. The canteen is coming up in front of the Hescom office at Konewad in Karwar.

The canteens, which are modelled on Tamil Nadu’s Amma canteen, are being established under the ambitious project of the State government. They offer quality breakfast and lunch/dinner at subsidised prices and has been a huge success in Bengaluru and other places.

Lack of basic facilities:

However, no such canteen had been opened in Karwar due to problems like lack of basic facilities and space to construct the canteen.

But now, the work of constructing the canteen has picked pace. The company involved in the construction of these canteens in other parts of the State has taken the responsibility of building the canteen in Karwar too. The company has brought many ready-made construction parts and is assembling them at the site.

Except for the foundation, all the other parts like the walls and roof are ready-made. The walls have been assembled using a crane and this work is almost done. Pillars supporting the iron pillar, walls and cement have also been set up. On the wall of the entrance, a huge picture of former prime minister Indira Gandhi has been imprinted.

Identifying land:

While the responsibilities of identifying land for constructing the canteen, providing drinking water and ensuring proper garbage collection have been entrusted to the local administration, the contract for building construction, the supply of utensils and food and canteen management have been given to companies at the State-level. 

Karwar City Municipal Council Assistant Executive Engineer K M Mohanraj said that the land at Konewad was finalised for Indira Canteen for the benefit of the poor. He added that the work of canteen construction would conclude in another week’s time.

Earlier, a site besides Kuvarbai School was finalised for construction of canteen. The CMC had zeroed in on this site located in the heart of the city as it would have helped more number of people. But many people raised objection saying that the construction of the canteen would shrink the space of the school playground and so, the place was changed at the last moment. At last, it is being constructed at Konewad.

Meanwhile, the local people have been waiting for the inauguration of the canteen. “Most of the people staying in Konewad are poor and an Indira canteen here would come to the rescue of the poor. We are just waiting for the canteen to open”, said Muhammed Khalid, a resident of Konewad.