Shortage at some of Delhi’s food camps, excess at others

Like in some of the other hunger camps, there have been complaints of social distancing norms not being maintained in this camp. A park in front of the school has also become a place for those who come to the camp to hang out, before or after meals.

The free lunch and dinner programme that is being run by the Delhi government for nearly a week now, has grown to 2800 centres across the city. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on (Wednesday), that the Delhi government served lunch to 5,85,386 and dinner to 5,79,162 people at around 1,423 centres.

About a dozen of the centres set up by the Delhi government and found that a few facilities were out of food. And that some remain crowded. Some of the centres are in shelters run by the state. (R K Raj/HT Photo)

“We are feeding 3.5 lakh-4 lakh people daily until now, and we will start feeding 10-12 lakh people from tomorrow. We found out that people were crowding at the food centres. So we decided to create more centres,” he added in a videoconference.

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On Thursday, Hindustan Times reporters visited about a dozen of the centres set up by the Delhi government and found that a few facilities were out of food. And that some remain crowded. Some of the centres are in shelters run by the state. Others are in schools.

According to Sujit Kumar, caretaker of one of the bigger shelters run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) in Sarai Kale Khan, lunch and dinner are prepared for around 500 persons twice a day, but on Thursday 600-700 people turned up for lunch.

“There are two more centres in the nearby colonies, both of which are within walking distance and have fewer takers. But because this centre falls along the main road, a lot of people turn up.We have asked for an increase in our supplies, “ he added.

Similarly, the Kalindi Kunj centre, which again doubles up as a shelter cooks for around 50 people a day, but in the last 3-4 days, 60-70 persons have started turning up for each meal. “Some have to return hungry,” said Afzal Khan, caretaker.

But, at other centres in Ghazipur, Patparganj and Mayur Vihar Phase 2, there was excess food.

“We do not use the same meal for dinner since it is getting warm . So we ask our civil defence volunteers to go and distribute the left over food in the nearby colonies. Today also we have a lot of Rajma and rice left,” said Ravi Chandran, an official from the Delhi government’s education department who is overseeing the arrangements in a school in Ghazipur which has been turned into a centre.

The hunger relief centre in Vasant Vihar’s C block is in a school in a quiet residential lane inside a colony were most gates have been closed because there are no guards to man them, although the school itself is in a part of the block that doesn’t have access gates. Like in some of the other hunger camps, there have been complaints of social distancing norms not being maintained in this camp. A park in front of the school has also become a place for those who come to the camp to hang out, before or after meals.

The government has set up two more centres at Kusum Pahari and Bhawar Singh Camp to cater to the poor in Vasant Vihar.

In Mayur Vihar Phase 1, the food centre at Janki Devi SKV school in the area no longer serves as one because it is located in a gated residential area. School authorities said the food was transferred to another government school in the nearby Chilla village.

At the centres at AIIMS, and the one at Yamna Pushta, there was no shortage. Both are in shelters and at the latter, close to 1,000 people are served two meals a day.

Vinay K Stephen, chief functionary, Sadik Masih Medical Social Servant Society (SMMSSS), which manages some of the shelters said, “After the government has opened new centres to provide food too migrant and poor people, there is not much pressure on the shelter homes now. We are providing food to close to 3000 people daily. We are just hoping that the government will release the payment soon, as we are running out of funds.”

Nearly 2,500 schools and 250-night shelters have started distributing food to 500 people a day, each bringing the total number of distribution centres to nearly 2,800.

In central Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar, Ramesh Yadav, 43 who was brought to a shelter by the police four days ago, said that he doesn’t mind staying there as long as he gets more to eat.

“We are labourers and are used to eating three meals a day. Here there is nothing in the morning. The first meal comes around mid-day a small bowl of khichdi or dal-rice. The quantity is too less. Another meal comes at 7 pm, which again is not enough,” said Yadav, who is one of the 41people staying in this Delhi government school that has been converted into a shelter.

He added that the policemen picked him up when he was walking back to his rented accommodation in Paharganj from the Anand Vihar ISBT, after failing to catch a bus to go back to his village in Uttar Pradesh. “There are eight of us here from the same area. I just want to request the authorities to let us go back to the room where we can cook and feed ourselves or give us enough to eat,” said Yadav, who stitches bags at a workshop in Paharganj for a living.