Kochi Corporation to devise additional revenue streams to sustain eatery networks

Kochi Corporation plans new revenue streams to sustain budget eateries, launching Indira Canteen as part of a wider network.

The Kochi Corporation will explore additional revenue streams to make both Samridhi@Kochi and Indira Canteen – budget eatery networks run jointly by the Corporation and Kudumbashree Mission – sustainable and self-sufficient in the long run.

Among the ideas being considered in the second phase is a supermarket operated by women associated with these networks. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan inaugurated the first Indira Canteen, which the Corporation described as the beginning of a wider network, at its Edappally zonal office on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

The project featured prominently in the UDF council’s 50-day action plan, though the Opposition LDF criticised it as an attempt to undermine the already established Samridhi@Kochi budget eatery chain.

Mayor V.K. Minimol countered this, saying Samridhi will be developed as a premium brand, while Indira Canteen would serve as the common man’s mainstay by offering three meals a day for a total of ₹50, with breakfast and dinner priced at ₹10 each, and lunch at ₹30. The next Indira Canteen is likely to come up in Mattancherry, with location and local demand determining future expansion.

“We plan to set up a She Home and a central kitchen on the vacant Padiyath yard. This has been proposed in the Budget, and the central kitchen, besides catering to Samridhi and Indira Canteens, will also serve She Lodge, hostels for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students, and more,” Ms. Minimol said.

She added that the Corporation will provide its own funds and tap Corporation Social Responsibility contributions and donations until Samridhi and Indira Canteen become stable and self-sufficient. “The very idea of a central kitchen is to ensure sustainable community feeding by reducing costs as much as possible. It will pave the way for a central store, bulk purchases, and other measures that will help cut expenses,” she said.