KOCHI: With the cooking gas shortage and price hike pushing hotels and restaurants into a crisis, Kochi corporation is initiating steps to launch a centralised cloud kitchen for the Indira Canteen project launched in March.
With expansion plans afoot, this is expected to help prepare and distribute food to multiple outlets from a single facility.
“The proposal is to construct a centralised cloud kitchen in Edappally. We need to consider the availability of LNG in the area. Also, since the corporation owns a property next to the Indira Canteen outlet there, planning and construction will be easier,” said mayor V K Minimol, adding that space constraints at Samridhi@Kochi were also a reason for planning a centralised kitchen.
The first Indira Canteen outlet was set up at the corporation’s Edappally zonal office, with the aim of offering affordable meals throughout the day. However, the LPG crisis has significantly pushed up Samridhi and Indira Canteen’s operating expenses.
“In the past month itself, the cost of running the facilities went up by `12-15 lakh. We have been looking at cutting extra expenditure. It is a Kudumbashree project aimed at the welfare of the public, and we are offering food at an affordable price. We have held discussions with the state government for subsidised LPG. However, we are yet to receive a response,” she said.
The corporation is also planning to set up a second Indira Canteen in Mattancherry.