Bengaluru Building New Canteen at Hudson Circle

The new two-storey facility at the Greater Bengaluru Authority's (GBA) head office is designed to serve both government staff and the general public visiting the busy civic hub. GBA Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao confirmed the building will feature a self-service system on the ground floor and table service on the first floor. This project echoes the state's broader public food program, the Indira Canteens, first launched in 2017 to provide subsidized meals to the urban poor. That initiative, inspired by Tamil Nadu's "Amma Canteens," aimed to place an affordable eatery in each of Bengaluru's 198 wards, offering breakfast for ₹5 and lunch and dinner for ₹10. Over the years, the Indira Canteen network has faced significant operational challenges, including inconsistent funding, temporary closures, and maintenance issues. After a period of neglect, the government has renewed its focus on the program, announcing plans in 2024 to add more canteens and proposing new menu items like ragi mudde (finger millet balls). The construction at Hudson Circle is part of a wider push by the recently formed GBA, which replaced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in 2025, to coordinate and supervise development across the city. The GBA, chaired by the Chief Minister, was established to streamline planning and improve urban service delivery for the entire metropolitan region. Hudson Circle itself is a historic and chaotic intersection, home to the 112-year-old Hudson Memorial Church and Banappa Park, a site of historical public rallies and speeches. The area's high footfall makes it a strategic location for public amenities. The GBA's canteen is not the first public food outlet in the immediate vicinity. In 2018, the BBMP controversially constructed an Indira Canteen within the Banappa playground at Hudson Circle, despite a High Court undertaking not to build on parks or playgrounds.