Covid-19 lockdown: Borivli restaurant provides 12K free meals to daily wagers

A restaurant in Borivli (West) has remained functional, not for business but to help those in need of a meal.

A restaurant in Borivli (West) has remained functional, not for business but to help those in need of a meal.

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Until March 27, Link View Fine Dine restaurant was giving free meal packets to police personnel, and have now started doing the same twice a day for over 12,500 daily wage workers in slums in P North and South wards.

“It began with the urge to help, and while we started with a few hundred people in the beginning, soon we were giving away 12,500 packets of food twice a day,” said Y Harish Shetty, owner. “When we saw the number of people striving to make ends meet and feed their families, we increased the number of food packages from 8,000 meals to 12,500 meal packets, twice a day,” added Shetty.

The day starts with putting together as much as 1,500kg rice, 625kg lentils, and 750kg vegetables. While Shetty initiated the supply, soon, fellow hoteliers from the North Mumbai Hoteliers Association pooled in their resources as well.

“Around 35 hotel staff help with cutting vegetables, cooking and packing food. Our family members have also started helping,” said Karthik, Shetty’s son. BMC vehicles the transport the packed food and civic officials distribute it among the daily wage workers living in the slums.

“We are doing our best to reach out to as many people as is possible by us. Thankfully, more members of our community have agreed to pool in resources and with that, we hope to help more people,” said Shetty.