Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: The Aahar food scheme, which provides a sumptuous meal of rice and 'dalma' to the people at a paltry Rs 5, is now going to be extended to all districts.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who reviewed the scheme today, announced that given the popularity among the people, new Aahar centres would be opened at all district headquarters hospitals as well as other industrial towns and cities.
"The maintenance of the centres, especially their cleanliness, will be the top priority along with the availability of safe drinking water," Patnaik said.
Surveys will be carried out in other industrial towns and cities to find out possible locations for new Aahar centres.
The chief secretary and district collectors will be part of an Aahar Society, which will be set up soon, Naveen said at the review meeting where chief secretary G.C. Pati and urban development minister Puspendra Singh Deo were also present.
Over 22,000 people across 21 centres in five cities - Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Rourkela - gorge on the healthy food every day.
The scheme was launched on April 1, coinciding with the 79th foundation day of the state, to help the poor get a healthy meal at an affordable price.
The 21 centres, which operate from government hospitals, bus stands and railway stations and serve food between 11am and 3pm every day, has now turned into an option for the poor to savour dal at an affordable price.
In the four centres in the city - located at the city bus stand, railway station, Capital Hospital and Mancheswar - people could be seen queuing up for their share of the healthy meal. From senior citizens to young children, from students to working men, people from all social classes queue up outside the centres, waiting patiently for their turn.
One has to get a token by paying Rs 5 at a counter outside and enter the hall where meals are served. Here, they are given plates, rice and dalma at different counters. There are options for the customers to sit and eat their meals or stand and eat while resting their plates on a ledge. After the meal, the people need to throw the leftovers into a dustbin and also wash their plates.
"I like the dalma and they are giving enough usuna rice (boiled rice). The dalma is full of vegetables and cooked well. It's very helpful to have the facility at the hospital since we do not need to worry about extra expenses when we are visiting family members admitted here," said 65-year-old Laxmi Behera, who had come to Capital Hospital for a relative who needed treatment.
However, the irony is that a lot of rice is dumped into the dustbin every day. While the staff members at the centres are upset about this, the visitors have their reasons.
"We are not allowed to pack and carry the leftover food outside, which would have let us share it with other members of the family. We have to either finish the food or throw away the leftovers," said 30-year-old Arabinda Sahu, a customer.
"Also, in the beginning, the centres used to serve us more dalma that made it easy for us to finish the rice. Now, probably due to the rise in dal prices, they have reduced the quantity of dalma to two scoops per head. Once the dalma is over, we have to throw away the rice since there is no provision of getting a second filling," said Arabinda
Currently, each of the 21 Aahar centres prepares over 1,000 plates of food every day. The meals are prepared by non-governmental organisations.
A major part of the funds are provided by corporates as part of their corporate social responsibility scheme.
"Except for occasions where people keep fast or a few festival days, we give 1,000 tokens everyday and the cooked food gets over within two hours," said a staff at an Aahar centre in the capital city.
