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Lockdown disrupts ₹5 meal kitchen, activist switches to doorstep delivery
Noida’s 62-year-old Anoop Khanna — who earlier ran Dadi ki Rasoi — now drives around Noida to distribute over 400 packets of dry ration to the underprivileged, everyday
After feeding the underprivileged for five years, wholesome and nutritious meals in only ₹5, through his ‘Dadi Ki Rasoi’ initiative, social activist Anoop Khanna refuses to be daunted by the lockdown and is now trying to ensure he provides rations to the hungry right at their doorsteps.
Dadi Ki Rasoi, which began in Noida in August 2015, and literally translates to Grandmother’s Kitchen, catered to about 500 people every day. In his own words, he charges a nominal amount of ₹5 and does not give the food for free in order to respect the dignity of the recipient. “From students to private employees and daily labourers, all types of people comes to us and we provide the same meal to everyone”, says Khanna, who has been operating this kitchen all by himself and a few paid staffers, but is averse to adding unpaid volunteers.
“I have observed many youngsters take interest in social initiatives but it quickly fades with time. I do not want to depend on people who might show up on one day and discontinue later. Also I am against the idea of full-time charity and want everyone who is getting involved in such initiatives to have a separate source of income, so that they do not use funds meant for social causes, for their own good,” adds Khanna, who operates two medical shops in the city and is also the president of a chemists’ association, a network that he put to use to identify the need for food in different parts of the city during the lockdown and made sure he reaches those places.
“With the lockdown, we had to shut Dadi Ki Rasoi and there were concerns about how we continue feeding people. Hence we took this decision to make packets of dry rations and distribute them to the underprivileged in slums,” says Khanna. Dadi Ki Rasoi has not only inspired similar kitchens in different parts of the country but also earned laurels from President Ram Nath Kovind, and Khanna was felicitated at Rashtrapati Bhawan last year, as part of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatama Gandhi. Khanna was invited to the President’s house and was commended for his contributions which fulfilled the basic requirements of “roti, kapda and dawai” of the needy.
While earlier he would set his food stall at around afternoon at a fixed place in sector 29, now his daily schedule includes driving around empty stretches of Noida, carrying along hundreds of packets of dry rations — a combination of a few kilograms of rice, wheat flour and pulses.
“We have made small ration packets to discourage people from hoarding and to cover more households. We will keep revisiting these places within a gap of four to five days till this lockdown gets over,” adds Khanna, who now distributes over 400 packets of dry rations every day.
As he has been serving the poor for so many years, procuring rations for distribution amid the lockdown hasn’t been a problem for him as vendors, familiar with his work over the years, were more than happy to make the products available to him.
With a WHO advisory suggesting senior citizens to exercise maximum caution and preferably stay indoors, the 62-year-old pins hopes on his safety gears and continues to serve the underprivileged.
“Everyone has his duty, be it healthcare professionals, policemen or civil society. In this hour, it is of utmost importance to keep serving people. It is only everyone’s collective effort that keeps humanity alive. I am using a mask, gloves and even a plastic apron to keep myself protected and we always maintain social distancing while distributing rations,” he adds.
