Vasundhara Raje's 'Annapurna Rasoi Yojana' all set to feed Rajasthan's poor

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated her government's 'Annapurna Rasoi Yojana' Scheme on Friday by serving a Dalit and a Gujjar woman.

Under the scheme, people will be able to have breakfast at Rs. 5 and lunch at Rs. 8.

The 'nnapurna Rasoi Yojana' will provide food to the poor at subsidised rates.

Raje said her government will open more such outlets across the state.

"You will find another such 80 outlets in 12 districts of Rajasthan in the next 15 days. Apart from this, we are planning to cover another 15 districts, and so on, in order to take the number to 200-250. People will get ready hot meals. I tried them and they are very tasty. People can choose out of number of dishes available here," she said.

The chief minister said those who work hard should be able to satiate their hunger, especially if they were poor.

She said her government is subsidising the rates heavily so that the poor can afford the meals.

"There are a lot of people who come to the big cities in search of work and live in the most uncomfortable surroundings because they have nothing to go back to. Under such circumstances, it is very important that those who work 24-hours a day are taken care of by the government. So, it is not about weakening them, but about giving them an opportunity to feed themselves at a much cheaper rate. We really believe that it is important because, if a man works hard, he does need to fill his stomach, especially if he is poor," she said.

"Annapurna means 'Bhandaar', so there should be no shortage for anybody," she added.

Autonomous Regime And City Development Minister Shreechand Kriplani, MLA Ashok Parnani, and Mayor Ashok Lahoti were also present on the occasion.

The state's Power Minister, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, State Woman Commission President Suman Sharma, Parliamentary Secretary Kailash Verma, MLAs Mohanlal Gupta and Surendra Parekh, Principal Secretary to local self government Manjit Singh, CEO Hemant Gera were among the others present.

Raje also congratulated autonomous power department for energy conversation for installing LED street lights and distributing LED bulbs.