CM Siddaramaiah opens Indira Canteen at Kempegowda International Airport

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar on Monday inaugurated the Indira Canteen at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The Indira Canteen has been started by the BBMP near Terminal 1 of the airport and had been a long-standing demand of cab drivers.

The CM, along with Shivakumar, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa, MLA Byrathi Suresh and others also had breakfast at the Indira Canteen. Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that a total of 600 Indira canteens will be established across the state, including in Bengaluru, to provide meals and breakfast to the poor at a low prices.

“We are starting 188 new Indira canteens in Bengaluru. Two canteens are being started as per the demand of taxi drivers and other drivers to start Indira canteens near the airport. Of these, 40 have already been completed and the rest are under way. An Indira Canteen was required at Kempegowda Airport. One has already been inaugurated and another Indira Canteen is coming up here. Its purpose is to provide meals and breakfast to the poor at low rates. Breakfast is provided for Rs 5, lunch and dinner will be available for Rs 10”, he said.

“The food menu has also been changed. A dining hall has been arranged. Indira Canteens will be set up in every ward of Bengaluru and also in other parts of the state. The previous government did not provide meals and some of them have been closed. We have restarted because the poor need to eat”, he added.

Reacting to the issue of drinking water in Bengaluru, the CM said that he has given clear instructions that the drinking water should not be disrupted for any reason. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held 2-3 meetings and said that no matter how much money is spent, water must be supplied through tankers to solve the problem, he said.

Siddaramaiah later laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth Rs 487 crore in Devanahalli and Doddaballapur. He also addressed a gathering of the guarantee scheme beneficiaries at Alu Duddanahalli in Devanahalli taluk.

ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @siddaramaiah ಅವರು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಯಾಬ್ ಚಾಲಕರು ಮತ್ತು ಸುತ್ತಲಿನ ಕಾರ್ಮಿಕರಿಗೆ ರಿಯಾಯಿತಿ ದರದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶದ ನೂತನ ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್‌ಗಳನ್ನು ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿದರು.

ಉಪಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @DKShivakumar, ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಕೆ.ಎಚ್ ಮುನಿಯಪ್ಪ, ಬೈರತಿ ಸುರೇಶ್,… pic.twitter.com/kzgMpuBmm2

— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) March 11, 2024

“It has been nine months since the Congress came to power and various development programmes have been undertaken. Along with this, steps are also being taken to increase GSDP and per capita income. Efforts are also being made to raise the social status of the poor, labourers, women and the youth and to bring the poor to the mainstream”, he said.

#WATCH | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar inaugurated the Indira canteen at Bengaluru KIAL airport.

(Source: CMO, Karnataka) pic.twitter.com/nn6JbnsmRt

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2024

The CM further said, “It has been 75 years since the Constitution was adopted, but inequalities remain. The nation’s resources should be distributed equally and only then can a society of equals can be created. Even Buddha and Basavanna extolled the same virtues”.

Targeting the opposition, he said, “The BJP wants the poor to remain poor and rich to remain rich. Anantkumar Hegde, who is a former Union minister, talks of changing the Constitution if they win over 400 seats. This reveals the BJP’s true colours and their hidden agenda. They are out to change the Constitution which has been hailed as the best in th world. The Constitution should survive for the sake of the poor and. If the Constitution has to survive, the BJP should lose and Congress should win”.