Kerala civic body to provide lunch, breakfast at Rs 10

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to help the poor in the backdrop of soaring prices of essential commodities and cooking gas, a civic body in Kerala is planning to provide breakfast and lunch at just Rs 10.

The Malappuram Municipality in northern part of the state has worked out a scheme to open a hotel near the municipal bus stand to serve "lip-smacking" traditional delicacies at an affordable price.

A top official said the hotel, expected to be operational within two months, would help poor and below-poverty-line (BPL) people to get food at cheaper rate.

"We have already set apart an amount of Rs 30 lakh for the project in the annual budget of the municipality. We expect the support of the state Social Security Mission also in the initiative," Municipality Chairman K P Muhammed Mustafa told PTI.

Under the plan, five idlis and two curries will be served for breakfast and rice and four curries will be given for lunch, he said.

Volunteers of the state's poverty eradication mission " Kudumbasree" will be roped in for cooking and serving food at the hotel, he said.

In the initial phase, breakfast for 500 people and lunch for 1,000 would be prepared daily, the official added.

The Malappuram Municipality, the first municipal body in the country to win an ISO certification for quality management, has already been serving food free of cost for around 400 poor people daily for the last two years under the 'hunger-free city' project.