Food shortage in the new AMMA canteens disappoint public. Lack of ration and lack of state funds to sustain operations is evident.

Bringing to light the rapid decay of public welfare infrastructure in late May 2015, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin expressed deep concern over the acute food shortages crippling state-subsidized 'Amma Canteens' across Chennai and other urban centres. Working-class citizens, daily wage labourers, auto-rickshaw drivers, and impoverished elders reported widespread disappointment as canteens repeatedly ran out of food items within minutes of opening, turning away thousands of hungry people every afternoon. Stalin pointed out that while the AIADMK government aggressively advertised the canteen initiative for political publicity, it had starved the municipal corporations of necessary budgetary funds and subsidized foodgrain quotas required to sustain operational quality and quantity. Women self-help group workers managing the kitchens were forced to operate with inadequate raw materials and delayed wage honorariums. Stalin asserted that ad-hoc populist schemes launched without structural financial planning inevitably collapse under fiscal strain. He demanded that the state government allocate dedicated budgetary resources, ensure uninterrupted grain supplies, and restore transparent municipal oversight to guarantee nutritious, dignified meals to urban working-class families without disruption and uphold the fundamental right to food security for vulnerable urban populations.