SER distributed over 2 lakh meals to poor: Spokesperson

The South Eastern Railway has distributed over two lakh plates of food to the destitute and the poor outside its headquarters here and near railway station complexes under its four divisions -- Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur and Ranchi - an official said here on Thursday. Contending that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis, leaving a large section of poor people in distress, SER spokesman Sanjay Ghosh said the meals were hygienically prepared and served to the worst-hit victims of lockdown, including daily wagers, porters, rickshaw-pullers, beggars, and homeless vagabonds.

"Of the total 2,42,813 meals prepared and distributed, 64,555 meals were served by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) utilising its base kitchen infrastructure at various stations in the SER zone, with help from the commercial department. The rest were arranged for distribution by the security and other departments," he said. Various associations such as South Eastern Railway Womens Welfare Organisation, SER Bharat Scouts and Guides, St John Ambulance Brigade and Civil Defence have also joined hands for the mass food distribution activities, Ghosh said.

Apart from cooked meals, SER employees also doled out ration packets containing rice, pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oil, spices, biscuits, to the needy, he added.