Indira Canteen Reality Check – 7: All is not well at Shanthinagar canteen but supervisor keeps customers happy

Mysuru:  With CCTV cameras defunct since three years, rusting hot water heating basin, burnt power connecting pin of the heater not replaced and the company not bothered to get anything repaired, all is not well at the Indira Canteen on Azeez Sait Main Road, near Beedi Colony in Shanthinagar here.

Though this canteen is filled with such problems, there are no complaints on the supervisor of the canteen or the supervisor’s working style.

Canteen supervisor Mohammed Ayub has taken a lot of initiatives to keep the customers happy. He himself serves food to customers with a smiling face and engages them in talks to gain their confidence.

It has been three years since miscreants broke open the canteen doors, made away with CCTV equipment and destroyed the CCTV monitoring screen.

The company managing the canteen has given Police complaint but has not bothered to get the CCTV cameras repaired or install new ones.

Though there are water heater basins in all canteens to wash utensils including plates and glasses, here the hot water facility is absent though there is a water heater basin, which has become defunct.

Every Sunday, Kesaribath, which is made using ghee, is supplied to this canteen. But in the absence of hot water to wash the plates, greasy layer on the plate still exists even after washing the plates and many customers have also complained about this to the canteen supervisor.

Customers say that though the canteen supervisor has brought this to the notice of the canteen contractor, nothing has been done to solve this issue.

This canteen is frequented by daily wagers, auto drivers, lorry drivers and students.

For breakfast, about 10 kg of chitranna and 15 kg lunch (about 60 plates) are being supplied to this canteen on daily basis, which gets over in a few minutes.

Many customers complaint that sufficient quantity of papads according to the number of plates was not being supplied for lunch and those who come a bit late were not getting papad for lunch.

Babu, an electrician from Ghousianagar, said, “I come to this canteen to have breakfast and lunch. Though rice and sambar is tasty, curd rice which is provided for lunch is like rice porridge without taste.”