Mysore/Mysuru: Like the Indira Canteens at K.R. Hospital premises and on Jodi Thenginamara Road, this Indira Canteen at Kumbarakoppal was established primarily to cater to the needs of poor people who come to various hospitals on KRS Road.

The KRS Road is a home to many hi-tech Government Hospitals that cater to the needs of poor population, especially Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences & Research, PKTB Hospital, Ayurveda Hi-Tech Panchakarma Hospital and the ESI Hospital.

Soon after the canteen was established, it received a good response, probably due to the initial hype. Many poor people flocked the canteen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though the dinner crowd was less as a majority of the population would reach their homes, there was a substantial crowd for breakfast and lunch.

Attendants of patients who used to visit various hospitals for treatment used to come to this canteen and many of them even used to say that the food here was way better and cheaper than the hospital canteens. But now, there are not many takers to the food here and the initial enthusiasm has waned.

Now as the population is fewer, even the food quantity has been reduced to prevent waste. Earlier, over 250 to 300 people used to have food daily and that has come down to 50. Only 150 idlis come now for breakfast and over 15 kg lemon rice is brought here. Lunch too has been reduced to 15-kg rice and sambar.

Despite the less quantity of food supplied here, food still gets wasted and it is returned to the centralised kitchen. According to the residents, more care must be taken by the canteen managers towards cleanliness and a makeover of the interiors.

“A place to consume food must be appealing and this appeal is not there here. If the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) takes more interest, then this canteen will see more people,” said a resident.

Regulars have also complained about the declining quality of the food. Curd rice, especially, has invited adverse comments as it tastes like rice gruel mixed with a little curds and rice.

The electric water heater that is used to boil water to wash the dishes does not work at the Kumbarakoppal Indira Canteen. Consequently, there is no hot water to wash the dishes and this has caused hygiene concerns as cold water is being used for the purpose.

Also, the CCTV cameras installed here do not work. Normally, all the Indira Canteens have such cameras. Though there is a monitor to screen the visuals captured in the cameras, visuals do not appear as the motherboard has been  taken away.