Benfish to roll out its 'Ekushe Annapurna' meal plan in districts

Kolkata: West Bengal State Fishermen's Co-operative Federation Limited popularly known as Benfish will roll out its 'Ekushe Annapurna' scheme in the districts of Bengal after the Panchayat election . The meal in which rice, dal, vegetable and fish curry is served only at Rs 21 has gained immense popularity in the city since its introduction in October 2016.

"We found that this meal became very popular particularly among the office goers in the city. We have made a list of districts in which a number of offices is located at a centralized place. The meal will be introduced from there. Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia in south Bengal and Siliguri in North Bengal are very much in our radar for the initial roll out," Bidhan Roy, managing director of Benfish said.

A senior official informed that Benfish has plans to introduce the meal plan in the three adjoining districts of Kolkata like Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas as part of extended Kolkata.

It may be mentioned that presently there are 20 vehicles on wheels that provide quality meal under this project at a subsidised rate.

They are stationed at places in Gariahat, Ruby, Hazra in south Kolkata, Shyambazar, Nagerbazar, Ultadanga in North Kolkata and also in Salt Lake and Rajarhat to name a few.

The scheme is the brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who wants to offer quality and nutritious food to all the people of the state.

"The scheme is run on a no profit, no loss basis. Every day thousands of people come to the city for jobs and not all of them have the financial capability to get a square meal at a reasonable price. This meal plan is mainly to benefit these people," Roy said.