File photo of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat
After Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Uttarakhand's Harish Rawat-government today became the latest to announce cheap food canteens, launching a programme to serve a full meal to the poor at a mere Rs 20.
Called the Indira Amma Bhojan Programme, the scheme was unveiled by Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Independence Day at Dehradun's NNB shopping complex where a huge crowd gathered to try out the food.
The Chief Minister was seen along with his wife Renuka Rawat serving food and later bought a meal himself and ate with the people. The fare for the first day included a variety of vegetables and lentils with four chapatis, rice, pickle and chutney.
Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi Government had unveiled a plan to set up 'Aam Aadmi Canteens' to serve nutritious food in the Rs 5-10 range, aimed especially at the working class population.
Similar programmes are also run in Tamil Nadu by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and in Odisha by the governments of Naveen Patnaik.
In his Independence Day programme, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that the state had recovered from the effects of the 2013 flood disaster that killed thousands of people.
"Today I can say with a sense of pride that Uttarakhand has not only recovered from the effects of the unprecedented tragedy but is also marching ahead steadily on the path of development," he said.