Indian Railways Provides Meals To The Underprivileged For Free And 13 IRCTC Kitchens Supplying Food

The novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 as it is also called, has taken a toll on the entire globe. A time like this, the Indian Railways has taken a great initiative of providing food to the underprivileged at the railway stations for free.

The IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation), which is the catering and e-ticketing arm of the Indian Railways’ network is also supplying free lunch meals at the railway stations. 13 IRCTC kitchens that are spread across the country are now cooking meals and have become the nodal points for such distribution.

The deadly virus has gripped the who world and India is no exception. To contain the spread of the deadly virus the government had imposed a 21-day lockdown which started from last Wednesday and it would not be wrong to say that COVID-19 has brought the whole world to its knees.

The lockdown in the country has massively impacted the livelihood of the people in India, however, the poor and the homeless have been hit the hardest as the lockdown has rendered them helpless, and even struggling for the basic necessities.

In order to cater to the underprivileged, IRCTC is providing cooked food in bulk quantities in paper plates from the kitchens located at various railway zones across the nation. The list of the kitchens are as follows:

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1. In the South Central Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Vijaywada
2. In the Western Railway Zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central.
3. In the East Coast Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Khurdha Road
4. In the South Eastern Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Balasore
5. In the Northern Railways zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Paharganj and Delhi
6. In the North Central Railway Zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Jhansi, Prayagraj as well as Kanpur
7. In the Central Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Pune, CSMT, Sholapur as well as Bhusawal
8. In the West Central Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Itarsi
9. In the South Western Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Bangalore and Hubbali
10. In the Southern Railway Zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located Chengalpattu, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangalore, and Katpadi
11. In the Eastern Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchens are located in Sealdah and Howrah
12. In the East Central Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Rajendranagar
13. In the North Frontier Railway zone, the IRCTC base kitchen is located in Katihar

On the 29^th of March, IRCTC supplied over 11,000 lunch meals to the underprivileged, migrant laborers, and other people all across the country.

Here are the details of the meals distributed as per the respective places:

1. In Delhi, 5030 lunch meals were distributed
2. In Bangalore, 2000 lunch meals were distributed
3. In Hubballi, 700 lunch meals were distributed
4. In Bombay Central, 1500 lunch meals were distributed
5. In Howrah/Sealdah, 500 lunch meals were distributed
6. In Patna, 400 lunch meals were distributed
7. In TATA, 400 lunch meals were distributed
8. In Ranchi, 300 lunch meals were distributed
9. In Kathiar, 200 lunch meals were distributed

The distribution of the meals at all the railway stations across the nation are being done by RPF (Railway Protection Force) officers. IRCTC may seek the assistance of volunteers and NGOs if the need arises.

At the Nizamuddin, Shakurbasti, and New Delhi railway stations, in the free lunch meals, Khichdi was included. In the North Central Railway Zone, the free lunch meals were distributed at Gwalior, Prayagraj, Jhansi, Agra, Mathura, and Kanpur railway stations.

Chokha and Khichdi were prepared and distributed at Rajendra Nagar, Patna base kitchen which was then distributed by the RPF to the people in need at Danapur and Patna stations.

During the food distribution, the railway officials were practicing social distancing and the people who were provided with food were encouraged to sit accordingly. IRCTC is all geared up to meet the higher demand for free meals for the poor and the needy during the lockdown period and is preparing itself for the contingency and is storing enough stock of the raw materials such as rice, and food grains.