The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading rapidly throughout the country. As per the official data, India has recorded over 1.25 lakh coronavirus positive cases and over 3500 deaths till the last week of May. The state of Maharashtra is one of the worst affected with over 40,000 positive cases and more than 1400 deaths.
The situation has been particularly tough for the migrant labourers and daily-wage earners during the lockdown as there has been no source of income for them. Underprivileged individuals all around the world are struggling to make ends meet.
Mumbai based Annamrita Foundation is one of the largest organisations offering their services in this critical situation. The Foundation has launched a campaign #UnitedLikeKhichdi to fight the scourge of hunger among the most vulnerable sections of society. Reliance Foundation, Ajay Piramal led Piramal Foundation, and Bajaj Group are among those providing the much-needed relief and uninterrupted supplies of groceries and food grains during the lockdown period.
Even Bollywood and television celebrities like Hema Malini, Bhagyashree, Arjun Bijlani, and Vivek Dahiya, among others have joined hands for this noble cause.
During the lockdown period since March 25, 2020, over 1.5 crore meals have been distributed through 21 kitchens across seven states – Maharashtra, New Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh at approximately 3 lakh meals per day.
Over 20 lakh meal packets have been distributed in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Jamshedpur, Delhi and Gurugram till date.
Dr Radha Krishna Das from Annamrita Foundation said, “Annamrita Foundation runs 21 kitchens across seven states which follows strict guidelines of hygiene and safety while preparing meals. Leveraging its unique ISO certified mass cooking technology, the power of a robust supply chain and industrial size kitchens, large quantities of meals are efficiently distributed to identified partner organizations/NGOs that have taken on the responsibility to ensure door-to-door delivery to the needy especially in slums. We are committed to continuing to offer the same until the situation normalises.”