Indira Canteens will soon get CCTV cameras

HUBBALLI: To bring discipline and have a close watch on Indira Canteens, Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) has decided to install CCTV cameras in the premises.
HDMC aims to monitor hygiene at the meals serving area, parcel packing, quantity and matters from its control room. Indira Canteens have been asked to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to the needy. In Hubballi-Dharwad, there are nine such canteens. Many poor, lower middle-class people and labourers make use of the canteen.
Sources said the HDMC commissioner Suresh Itnal had received several complaints about the canteen since a few days. He started visiting the canteens personally and collected details. During his surprise visit, he came across some canteens with fewer parcel packets.
Itnal said people were complaining about unavailability of food at some canteens, and about the quality and quantity.
“As tough lockdown rules are implemented in Hubballi-Dharwad, the needy depend on Indira Canteens. To ensure they get food at the canteens, we have decided to install CCTVs at all Indira Canteens. We can keep a close watch on the packing process, timing, number of parcel packets and hygiene. We can also count the number of people who take food parcels in queue,” he added.
Sources said officials have decided to install CCTVs, connect them to the control room in HDMC and deploy dedicated persons to keep a watch on the canteens. Currently, the canteens are reporting more than 4,200 footfalls for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively per day, sources added.
District minister Jagadish Shettar said there is a need to keep a watch on Indira Canteens to improve quality, quantity and hygiene. There also need to be monitored to check how many people are visiting and how many parcels given, the minister added.