On their first full day of operations, Indira Canteens across the city saw huge crowds — well beyond their capacity of 500 — arriving for a plate of subsided food.

Those who were unable to sample ‘uppittu’, which was on the menu for breakfast, said they would try their luck for lunch (‘anna sambar’).

Narasappa, a private security guard, was one such unlucky person in Doddabommasandra. “The government should ensure enough food at the canteens and such a low limit will create a huge rush and stampede at the canteens,” he said.

The 101 canteens serve 500 plates of food during each meal. No canteen reported any leftover food on Thursday, and those in Kanakanapalya, Bannappa Park, K.R. Puram, Hoodi and Vasanthnagar reported a footfall in the range of 900 to 1,400. At the Kanakanapalya canteen in Jayanagar, which was inaugurated by Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, over 1,400 people queued up in the morning, said Manoj Rajan, special commissioner heading the Indira Canteen Special Task Force, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

The civic body is working towards developing a dynamic model to assess demand at each canteen and dispatch food accordingly. “We have developed a footfall reporting system at each canteen through an app. No canteen today reported fewer than 500 people. But the demand seems to be higher than 500 at many places. Many visitors came out of curiosity and this may die down after the first week,” said Mr. Rajan.

Logistics and delays

However, as on day one, service was marred by delays in arrival of food. At several canteens, service began almost an hour late.

Autorickshaw driver Vikram Gowda said while the canteens help him save money, waiting for over an hour translated into a loss of revenue as he couldn’t get back to work. “If the canteens run on time, we can schedule our workday accordingly. I hope things will fall into place in the days to come. But the food is excellent,” he said.

Mr. Rajan said that during breakfast, 94 canteens received food at the right time, while the remaining seven procured the items from the nearest kitchen. “Drivers are new and we were working out of only six kitchens. It is the transportation of food that is taking time, not its production. Things will stabilise soon,” he said.