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‘Modi’s Kitchen’ Feeds The Hungry And The Homeless In Coimbatore
Swarajya Staff
May 09, 2020, 11:21 AM | Updated 11:21 AM IST
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Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district have been feeding the hungry and homeless migrant workers by running a decentralised kitchen in the city.
The free food programme was initiated by a senior BJP leader to feed migrant workers, the homeless and the grassroots workers rendered jobless during the lockdown.
About 15 volunteers and two cooks prepared food at the Modi’s Kitchen located at a commercial complex in Gandhipuram to feed 500 to 700 people, said Vanathi Srinivasan, BJP’s state general secretary.
The kitchen stringently adhered to the Covid-19 crisis regulations, she said.
Srinivasan, the founder of Kovai Makkal Sevai Maiyam, said the kitchen’s output would be increased if demand rises.
Other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have joined forces with Modi’s Kitchen and supplied food on a ‘rotation’ basis in various areas of the city. “We co-ordinated the food distribution so the needy received fresh food parcels every day from like-minded organisations,” Srinivasan said.
Supported by BJP People’s Seva Centre, and under the guidelines of party president J P Nadda, the Modi’s Kitchen services were rolled out by Srinivasan on 29 March. People’s Seva Centre has joined ‘No Food Waste’, a movement aimed at ending wastage, to execute the distribution of the parcels.
She said more than 100 hundred volunteers were involved in this operation and helped in identifying areas where people needed food, and then distributed parcels on a daily basis.
This measure has been appreciated by a US government body. The US Consulate in Chennai has recognised the humanitarian service of ‘Modi’s Kitchen’ in a post on its Twitter handle.
Please embed this tweet
#AlumniFeature: Feeding the hungry is a human act of kindness and our #StarAlumna @VanathiBJP is helping provide fresh meals to #homeless & #migrant workers in Coimbatore through a govt supported decentralized kitchen. Vanathi is an @ACYPL program alumna. https://t.co/1MCnjtaPTk
— US Consulate Chennai (@USAndChennai) May 2, 2020
Srinivasan is an alumnus of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) Program, overseen by the US State Department, and the consulate praised the effort of its “star alumnus” amidst the pandemic crisis.
Srinivasan said “when BJP president Nadda suggested that each MP feeds five people on a daily basis, so that no one goes hungry during the lockdown, I took the idea forward. Rather than executing this idea individually, I thought I can gather the party workers to feed a far greater number of people.”
“It was tremendously successful and demonstrated the enthusiasm of party workers and NGO volunteers in assisting the needy in the hour of crisis.”
“I personally consider this one of the most important services organised by Kovai Makkal Sevai Maiyam that has been proactively taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare projects to every potential benefactor in the city,” Srinivasan said.
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