New Delhi, 19 August (H.S.): Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Wednesday dedicated a new Atal Canteen to the public in front of Mother Dairy in the JJ Colony area of Old Pankha Road, Janakpuri. He said the initiative aims to ensure that no person is deprived of nutritious food because of financial constraints. He added that the meals served at the canteens prioritise a balanced and nutritious diet, along with hygiene and quality.

Sood said the initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas” and the Delhi government’s welfare-oriented approach towards providing relief to citizens, particularly those from economically weaker sections. He said the government is committed to providing needy people with dignified, hygienic and nutritious meals every day through the Atal Canteens and taking public service to the grassroots.

Sood said the Atal Canteen scheme is not merely aimed at providing affordable meals to economically weaker sections with dignity, but also serves as a valuable facility for people who work throughout the day and do not have enough time to prepare food at home. In many families, meals are cooked only once in the morning and consumed throughout the day. For such people, he said, the Atal Canteens have emerged as a major source of relief.

He said the Delhi government has promised to ensure a safe and dignified life for people from poor and economically weaker sections, including residents of JJ colonies, slum clusters and other low-income settlements. Work has already begun to provide permanent housing to needy families, and the government has now taken another step towards ensuring that they also have access to nutritious food with dignity.

Sood said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the Delhi government is continuously undertaking initiatives aimed at public welfare. The Atal Canteen scheme is being expanded rapidly across Delhi with the objective of providing affordable, nutritious and quality food to poor and needy residents. As part of this expansion, another Atal Canteen was inaugurated and dedicated to the public on Wednesday.

Sood said 25 new Atal Canteens had also been launched across Delhi on Sunday, two days earlier. People attending that programme said that the availability of nutritious food at such a low price was a major relief for the general public.

He added that more Atal Canteens would be opened in different parts of Delhi in the coming days so that no poor or needy person in the national capital has to go to bed hungry and every deserving individual can access food with dignity.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar