The Fall and Rise of Anna Canteens: From shutdown under YSRCP to revival by TDP in 2024

Amaravati: Anna Canteens – a name heard seven years ago in Andhra Pradesh is now in the news. By August, the TDP-led new government would re-open 183 Anna Canteens, which were closed by the previous YSRCP government when it was in power from 2019 to 2024.

Anna Canteens was intended to be more than just a place where breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered at a nominal price of Rs 5 each. The TDP government wanted it to be a beacon of hope for the underprivileged.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation was in charge of running the canteens at that time and it is said that the impact was profound. The people who benefitted from the Anna Canteens were people from the low-income groups such as the daily labourers, and construction workers and the canteens made a significant difference in their lives.

History

In March 2016, the first Anna Canteen, named after TDP founder-president NT Rama Rao, was opened on a pilot basis close to the Government Transitional Headquarters at Velgapudi in Amaravati.

Later, many more were opened. However, the government failed to implement the programme because of financial constraints. In 2018, when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu was in power, the government launched around 183 Anna Canteens, with a budget of around Rs 80 crores and it was one of the TDP’s promises ahead of the 2014 polls.

During its launch then, TDP chief and now chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said, “You can benchmark these canteens with international standards such as KFC or McDonald’s. Whether it is quality, environment, cleanliness or hygiene, you will not see such perfection anywhere else.”

Why were Anna Canteens closed?

The closure of Anna Canteens started after the 2019 elections, when the YSRCP formed the State government, with YS Jagan Mohan Reddy becoming the chief minister.

Several protests and demands have asked for the canteen’s name to be changed while also asking for them to be kept open for the public. However, all the Anna Canteens buildings were shut down gradually by 2022. Even now, many of the buildings are still vacant.

All Anna canteens will be back in 100 days

After the 2024 polls, the TDP alliance that formed the government announced the reopening of their Anna Canteens. While they haven’t been officially opened, the TDP cadres have reopened some in many districts.

According to the municipal administration minister P Narayana, “In 100 days, all Anna Canteens will be reopened in the State. While there are 183 Anna Canteens which were functioning during the TDP regime, those will be immediately reopened as the infrastructure is ready. The Cabinet has approved the opening of another 20 Anna Canteens.”

The minister also mentioned that they would invite tenders to finalise the contract of providing healthy food to the needy.

How did the idea behind the Anna Canteens come?

The concept of Anna Canteens was first adopted by Tamil Nadu, where the State’s Amma Canteen scheme was launched in February 2013 by the then chief minister J Jayalalitha.

The idea was to provide affordable meals to the people through a network of canteens owned by the State government but run by women’s self-help groups.

Back in 2014, the TDP ministers and officials visited Tamil Nadu and other places many times to study the functioning of such canteens and soon the idea was adopted to suit the needs and requirements of Telugu people.

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