Volunteers ‘feed’ 20,000 people on Independence Day in Gurgaon

This initiative was part of the #Mission1Million campaign which is being run by the group throughout 41 cities in the country on the occasion of Independence Day.

A group of young professionals under the banner of Robin Hood Army claimed that on the occasion of Independence Day they provided food to around 20,000 underprivileged people in the city on Tuesday.

A group of young professionals fed underprivileged people in the city on Tuesday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

They said that they collected excess food from several restaurants in the city and distributed the food among the deprived people with a view to fight hunger. Besides, they cooked food themselves and also collected from residents as the target was huge.

This initiative was part of the #Mission1Million campaign which is being run by the group throughout 41 cities in the country on the occasion of Independence Day.

In Gurgaon, there are about 150 volunteers working with the group for the last three years.

“We gather every weekend to distribute food to the underprivileged people living in small clusters. Particularly, for August 14 and 15 we are giving away food to 20,000 people especially children,” said Sachit Sehra, a corporate executive, a volunteer.

Aarushi Aggarwal, another volunteer, said, “We have indentified many slums where people are living without basic amenities. We are trying to give quality food to children for their development. Also, we are helping them with education as we find many school drop-outs in these slums. We are trying to find solution to hunger which many people in the country lead with everyday.”

Sagar, a 10-year-old boy, while waiting for his turn for food, said that he enjoyed this initiative. “We look forward to Saturday and Sunday every week as we get good food.”

Targeting to feed 20,000 people in the city, volunteers with food went to several illegal colonies for the two consecutive days where they made people aware about importance of cleanliness and sanitation. They distributed poori, curry and halwa.

Abhishek Chaudhery, IT executive, a volunteer, said, “We have been doing this for years now, so these people know the drill. We come on Saturday and Sunday around afternoon to give them food. The food outlets understand the cause and help us fight hunger.”

The food that these volunteers distribute is mostly from restaurants in the city and sometimes the volunteers also prepare food for the underprivileged people.