CHENNAI: After the land of the pyramids, its is the turn of ‘vibrant’ Gujarat. Such is the interest kindled by Amma Canteens at home and abroad.
Barely two weeks after the visit by a delegation from Egypt, an official from the Gujarat government turned up at the state-run ‘Amma canteen’ at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on Thursday. Well, he tasted the food items on sale there. SA Pandav, Joint Director, Commissionerate of Employement and training, government of Gujarat visited the canteen, one of the largest in the city, that sells food at a subsidised rate.
The official refused to comment on his visit but Corporation officials confirmed that an official delegation from Gujarat government would be visiting the canteen on Friday. However, hospital officials said the visit was to learn more about employment opportunities for women self-help groups and get an idea as to how the state-run project has been benefitting them. On May 31, officials from the Egyptian government who visited the popular canteen said they would work on emulating this model in their country.
The ‘affordable hotels’ - Amma canteen or Amma Unavagam - function in all 200 wards in the city apart from those in Government hospitals and other cities across the state. Plans are also on to set up more canteens in the state.