By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 14, 2016 : The Odisha government on Thursday opened 100 more Aahar centres in the second phase of the programme in the state as part of its endeavour to provide cooked food at a cheaper price.

Inaugurating the second phase Aahar programme at the Netaji Indoor stadium in Cuttack, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the state government had opened 100 Aahar centres in all districts in the second phase of which four have been opened in Cuttack and five in Bhubaneswar.

The plan under Aahar scheme is provide meal consisting of rice and dalma at Rs 5 per plate to about 60,000 people every day.

Patnaik also emphasized on providing quality meal and clean drinking water to the people. The state government had launched the first phase of Aahar Yojana in the state on April 1 in 2015 in which 21 centres were opened in Bhubneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela.

Taking note of the success of the programme and the need of the poor people who come to the urban areas in search of work, the state government later decided to extend the programme to all districts.