Hare Krishna Foundation to stop food to Anna Canteens in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: The supply of food to Anna Canteens through Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation is soon going to be stopped as they withdraw the service from August 1.

Ever since the launch of Anna Canteens in the State, the Charitable Foundation has been cooking and supplying food to 204 canteens through centralised kitchens. In Visakhapatnam, the Foundation has been supplying food to 25 canteens. According to sources, the representatives of the Foundation met the officials concerned and said that they would discontinue their service from next month. "We have signed a contract with the Director of Municipal Administration for three years. Since we are asked to stop our service to carry out renovation work in canteens, we decided to withdraw the service from August 1 until further notice," said a source from the Foundation on condition of anonymity.

A part of renovation work is on in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam. However, the officials concerned say that they have not received any instructions so far about Anna Canteens. "As of now, there is no information for us to discontinue Anna Canteens," said Y Srinivasa Rao, Project Director of Urban Community Development to The Hans India.

Some say that Anna canteens will be given a new look post the renovation work. However, sources say that from serving a meal to 900 to 1,000 people at each Anna Canteen, the number has steadily come down in the past few months. Since the officials concerned were tight-lipped on the development, there is no clarity whether the food supplier will be replaced with a new one or the initiative of serving the pocket-friendly meal will come to an end.