Nagpur Municipal Corporation, NGOs feed over 1.26 lakh stranded people

NAGPUR: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), in association with various non-government organizations (NGOs), has started as many as 26 community kitchens across the city from March 29 to serve food to the underprivileged and those stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This generous gesture has given a ray of hope to many who are stranded in the city and also to those in need of food due to the national lockdown.
Till April 7, the NMC-NGOs partnership has provided over 1.26 lakh meals twice a day to 63,362 persons, mostly migrant workers, from across the country.
“In a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus and also to provide food to stranded people, more than 26 community kitchens have been made operational in the city,” said assistant municipal commissioner Milind Meshram.
Apart from its five shelter homes, the NMC, along with the district administration, has started an additional 13 shelter homes across the city from March 29.
On the first day, two meals (lunch and dinner) were served to 1,957 people through 18 community kitchens.
With each passing day, the number of stranded people in shelter homes has increased manifold, but it did not stop the NMC and NGOs from providing cooked food. “We also increased the number of community kitchens and on April 7, we served two meals (lunch and dinner) to 26,273 stranded people at 177 shelter homes across the city from 26 kitchens,” he added.