Soaring prices of veggies: KMC tweaks Maa Canteen menu

The escalating cost of vegetables in the market has compelled the authorities of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to usher in a slight change in the menu served at the Maa canteens across the city.

The vegetable curry that is offered along with rice, dal and egg will be replaced with soybean curry.

Soybean is rich in protein and so the civic body feels that the move will not compromise with the nutritious value in the platter that is served at the Maa canteens.

This project provides lunch to the needy at Rs 5, with rice, dal, sabzi and egg curry comprising one full table egg. The serving time is from 12 noon to 3 pm.

“I have already issued instructions in this regard. On Thursday, I will be holding a meeting with some councillors in my chamber regarding the issue of a steep rise in vegetable price,“ Mitali Banerjee, Member Mayor-in-Council, NULM (National Urban Livelihoods Mission) said.

Banerjee, however, assured that this will be a temporary change and they will revert to vegetable curry as soon as the price stabilises.

Soybean curry is nothing unusual in the Maa canteen platter as usually it is served at least once or twice a week. “Soybean is already very much in demand in the Maa canteen. So, I believe it will not make any difference, “Sudarshana Mukherjee, councillor of Ward 68 in the Gariahat area said.

There are 140-odd Maa canteens in Kolkata that include the medical colleges and state hospitals within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area. In the year 2022-23, the Maa canteen has catered to a record 1.5 crore people with a monthly average of over 7.7 lakh.

Presently, there are over 300 canteens operational in 127 municipalities’ jurisdictions, including Kolkata and New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s pet project — ‘Maa Canteen’ is presently catering to over 17 lakh beneficiaries daily with a 3.09 crore beneficiaries taking food from these canteens till date. The project that was launched in March 2021 has witnessed a steady jump and since March 2022, there has been a significant increase from 1. 46 crore to over 3 crore.

The Maa Canteens are managed by State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) under the aegis of the state Urban Development & Municipal Affairs department.