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Empowerment in Action: Prayagraj welcomes its 1st women-run ‘Shakti Rasoi’ at CMO office campus
Run by members of women self-help group (SHG), this culinary venture aims to provide affordable and appetizing food options, according to district officials.
PRAYAGRAJ In a first for the Prayagraj region, an all-women ‘Shakti Rasoi’ has come up at the office of chief medical officer (CMO) in Sangam City to serve delicious food and snacks to visitors.
Run by members of women self-help group (SHG), this culinary venture aims to provide affordable and appetizing food options, according to district officials. The ‘Shakti Rasoi’ has been established with the dual objective of bestowing livelihood opportunities to women associated with the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) under the SHG umbrella and fostering self-sufficiency among them.
This initiative is a component of a state-level endeavour that spans 16 cities with their own municipal corporations -- including Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Firozabad, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Jhansi, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Meerut, Aligarh, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Shahjahanpur. Similar rasois have already commenced operations in Gorakhpur and Varanasi.
Vinod Kumar Singh, the District Program Manager (DPM) of the National Health Mission in Prayagraj, said, “The ‘Shakti Rasoi’ is now operational within the premises of the CMO office in Prayagraj. Patrons can enjoy an array of snacks, traditional kulhad tea, and coffee at reasonable prices.
The menu includes items such as Kadi-chawal, chole bhature or chola chawal, Rajma-chawal, as well as snacks like samosas, Chowmein, bread pakodas, patties, cold drinks, chips, tea, coffee, and various other delicacies.”
Singh elaborated, “This endeavour is geared towards empowering women and instilling self-reliance. Simultaneously, the public can savor economically priced, hygienically prepared homemade meals within the CMO office campus.” He further emphasised that sufficient space has been provided on the CMO campus for the SHG to operate the ‘Shakti Rasoi’.
Vartika Singh, the Head of the District Urban Development Agency in Prayagraj, revealed that ten women from the Satnam Women’s SHG have undertaken the responsibility of running this inaugural rasoi in Prayagraj, overseeing the cooking and serving processes.
“As a collective effort, this group has raised a capital of ₹1 lakh to establish the ‘Shakti Rasoi’. The necessary utilities such as water and electricity have been facilitated by the CMO office. Originating as a pilot project in Varanasi, this initiative has been extended to Prayagraj. Five additional rasois are expected to emerge in Prayagraj soon, positioned within government offices and hospitals,” she highlighted.
