Covid-19 in India: Bengaluru serves free food to needy during lockdown

India's tech city Bengaluru rose up to the cause of serving free food to the needy hit by the Covid-19 lockdown.

The government of Karnataka through Indira Canteens, TVS company, corporator Jaggi Marwadi, Suresh NGO, Jain Samaj KMYF and others served more than 200,000 meals on Saturday.

As many as 75,000 people were served breakfast while 100,000 people were served dinner.
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Nearly 1,300 Packets of food were supplied to labourers working at Gina Engineering Company, 400 packets were distributed at Dairy Circle, 200 at Halasuru Gate police station and 400 at Mahadevapura slum.

Through the Labour Commissioner's office, 12,000 food packets were distributed.

Likewise, needy people were also fed at the Yeshwantpur Railway Station, Elmala Station and Reva Union College and several other locations across the city.

On Friday, the same donors served 1.8 lakh meals in the city.

The state government has also started a food helpline - 155214 - for the labourers.

Namma Bengaluru Foundation lead by Karnataka's BJP Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar reached out to the four slums of Amar Jyothi, Domlur, Vyalikaval slum (near Chowdaiah Memorial Hall) and Sanyasikunte in Hanumanthnagar to help 1,430 people.

The NGO is also planning to feed 700 rag-pickers from Hebbal (Kuntigrama) from Sunday.

"We are seeking funding and volunteers to provide grocery kits and food packets to waste pickers, construction workers' families and children that are struggling to make ends meet," said Namma Bengaluru Foundation General Manager Harish Kumar.

Jain International Trade organisation (JITO), Bhaskar's Mane Holige and Gilgal Charitable Trust have helped the NGO to reach out to hundreds of people with food during the lockdown.

Similarly, The Atria Foundation has also chipped in to serve 1.5 lakh free meals every day for the needy in Bengaluru staring Saturday.

The foundation shared four phone numbers - 9160467036, 9834075986, 9845099246 and 9845064414 - to contact for food.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood appealed to philanthropists to contact the nearest police station to donate food.

"Philanthropists, in case you want to support poor, leave cooked, packed, simple food at the designated police station and it will reach the poor," Sood tweeted.

He delegated Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police as the nodal officer to decide the distribution among police stations.

With the Covid lockdown striking the railway porters hard, who make ends meet with the daily wages they earn from carrying passengers luggage, the South Western Railway (SWR) zone's Railway Protection Force (RPF) has distributed them food packets.

"Railway porters got affected the most by losing their livelihood as all passenger trains are cancelled," said the railway zone.

The RPF officials distributed food packets containing 5 kg rice, 1 kg wheat, 1 kg tuar dal, salt, red chilli powder, masala power and others.

The protection force is also planning to distribute 100 food packets to the needy on a daily basis from Sunday.