After remaining shut for few days due to LPG crisis, the Atal Canteen, which provides subsided food to poor people reopened on Tuesday. The Delhi government–sponsored public eatery had allegedly run out of cooking fuel.
The first meal of the day on Tuesday included only dal, rice, and roti. The sabzi or side dish was missing from the menu. Meal suppliers said that the closure was due to a “technical issue”, but it was after assurance from the government that LPG supply won’t be affected due to shortage, the canteen has again started serving food on affordable rates for the poor class.
Sheikh and Rajesh Kumar Tomar work at a nearby construction site. For them, the canteen is “heaven”, they get meals for Rs 5. This helps them save money to run their families. However, due to the ongoing war in West Asia, which led to a cooking fuel shortage in India, their heaven was snatched for two days.
“Finding it closed for two days increased the burden on us,” said Tomar, who has to send food to his family in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. Both Sheikh and Tomar were forced to eat parathas at a street shop.“Paratha prices have gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 40, which is a lot for us. We were hopeful that the canteen would open soon,” said Sheikh, whose family lives in Nizamuddin, Delhi.
“I do not get lunch from home, the canteen is the only cheap option for me,” added Sheikh. He was happy that the canteen had reopened.Atal Canteen was opened on 25 December by CM Rekha Gupta, marking the 101st birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It promised to provide a full meal for Rs 5, served twice a day, seven days a week.
Initially, 45 canteens opened across low-income, high-density neighborhoods — from RK Puram and Govindpuri to Narela, Bawana, and Rajouri Garden. The Delhi government aimed to open 100 such canteens across the national capital. It served lunch from noon to 2 pm and dinner from 6 to 8:30 pm.Raju and his team, working as dholkis in Lajpat Nagar, are regular visitors to the canteen and have both meals. The closed canteen forced them to collect wood from nearby areas and cook for the entire team.
The group on Tuesday dined at the canteen for Rs 5. “We saw the doors open, and we came to eat lunch,” he said. As the canteen resumed on Tuesday, 200 to 300 people started coming in looking for food.
Follow us
