Ghaziabad: Admin receives distress calls for food, gears up to strengthen supply chain

In the last two days since the initiation of the countrywide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ghaziabad police have been receiving calls from

In the last two days since the initiation of the countrywide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ghaziabad police have been receiving calls from people lamenting that they had no money to buy food items. The police said that they have been receiving calls from areas such as Loni and Khoda; about 130-140 calls were received since Wednesday.

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“I used to earn ₹200-250 daily but my has work has been suffering ever since the recent large-scale violence in Delhi. Now with the lockdown, the entire work stopped. I used to purchase 5kg flour every three days for my wife and three children; it would suffice for 2-3 days. Now we don’t have any ration left,” said Mohammad Naim, a rickshaw puller from the Araam Park locality in Loni.

“We are not moving out due to the lockdown and remain confined to the streets outside our houses. The major issue is that a majority of people have small houses and it is difficult for us to stay inside every day and night together. If we move out to try and get any work, we are driven away,” he added.

The police said that most distress calls were received from localities in Loni and Khoda.

“We are getting these calls verified with the help of local councillors and trying to help genuine callers. People who want to help provide food to the poor are also calling us. We are trying to see if food packets can be delivered through our vehicles,” Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural), said.

Loni town has an estimated population of about 20 lakh while Khoda, which is also located near the East Delhi border, is estimated to have a population of about 5-6 lakh.

“Several people in Loni are engaged in daily wage jobs and depend highly on such work. Many of them stay in localities such as Khanna Nagar, Ram Park, Araam Park, Laxmi Enclave and Ikram Park among others. I myself have compiled a list of about 200 such people who need essential food supplies. The list has their names, mobile phone numbers, etc. I request the administration to look into their issues,” Aamir Hussain, a social worker and a lawyer from Ward-39, Loni, said.

Meanwhile, the UP chief minister on Thursday also took a high-level meeting with the chief secretary, the director-general of police and other senior state officials in Lucknow and directed strengthening the supply chain.

“The number of vehicles, mobile vans, carts, etc., which have been roped in for door-to-door delivery has now been increased to 18,570 and we are increasing the number further to strengthen the supply chain. The chief minister has also asked districts such as Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Agra to provide food, shelter and drinking water to workers, daily wagers, etc., and also to people coming from other states. The directions have been given to help out religious groups as well,” Awanish Awasthi, UP’s additional chief secretary (home), said.

He said that community kitchens have also been started in different areas and officials have been asked to scale up the numbers.

“Under this initiative, we have prepared about 1 lakh food packets on Thursday. About 7 lakh litres of milk were distributed on Thursday with the help of 8,000 vehicles. We plan to increase the distribution to about 15 lakh litres with the help of 20,000 vehicles. Directions have also been issued to district magistrates and police superintendents for joint patrolling daily,” he added.

The Ghaziabad district magistrate on Thursday held a meeting with food chain dealers/stockists, etc., and asked them to furnish a list of areas where they could supply.

“The list will be shared with residents’ welfare associations (RWAs). The RWAs can connect with local retailers and apprise them of their requirement. The municipal corporation and district urban development authority officials have been asked to prepare a list of persons in need so that food can be supplied to them for next 15 days,” district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said in a statement.

“The builders and factory owners have been directed to ensure that food is supplied to the houses of workers. A project near NH-9 was inspected and found satisfactory. However, there were complaints by workers in Siddharth Vihar and we are issuing notices to some erring builders,” he added.

For urban areas, the administration officials said that 230 carts and 282 e-rickshaws have been roped in, which will help ensure the regular supply of items such as fruits, vegetables, milk, etc.