‘Roti Bank’ in Noida generates 50,000 chapatis daily for the needy

‘Roti Bank’, an initiative that was started almost a month ago by a few Noida residents from sectors 78 and 79 to help daily wagers get food during the nationwide

‘Roti Bank’, an initiative that was started almost a month ago by a few Noida residents from sectors 78 and 79 to help daily wagers get food during the nationwide lockdown, has now become a mass movement. More and more people from across the city have started contributing to the initiative, which also has the support of the Noida authority.

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In the beginning, at least 500 families had contributed two chapatis each. And now around 50,000 rotis per day are being collected and provided to the Noida authority’s community kitchen from where they reach the needy. Between April 13 and May 8, the bank has made more than 650,000 rotis.

On April 12, a handful of apartment owners from Sector 78’s three housing complexes -- Antriksh Golf View 1, Golf View 2, Assotech Windsor Court -- and Sector 79’s Sportswood had started the ‘Roti Bank’. They did not think the idea will inspire so many city residents to come forward to help the homeless and jobless people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have got 655,300 rotis from residents from April 13 to May 8. And the number is increasing daily as more and more residents are contributing,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer of Noida authority.

Within a week after launch of the initiative, residents of around 20 societies in 7X sectors (74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and 79) started contributing to it.

“Now, residents from sectors such as 21, 25, 26, 34, 49, 51, 70, 93, 104, 108, 110, 119, 122, 137 and 143 have also joined the initiative. Some housing societies from Greater Noida have also started sending rotis. The initiative is daily helping 9,300 needy people to get food. So far, it has helped 142,150 people,” said another Noida authority official, requesting anonymity.

To begin with, the residents had requested via WhatsApp groups and other social networking sites for two rotis from each family daily for the next two weeks.

The residents have to hand over the rotis to security guards at the gates, from where authority representatives collect them daily in the evening to deliver the same to homeless and migrant workers.

“We all have a duty to help the needy during this crisis because the government alone cannot provide food for so long. We hope the entire city will come forward and ensure nobody sleeps hungry during the pandemic,” said Amita Singh, a resident of Sector 76.

The Noida authority is running five community kitchens -- Shani temple Sector 14A, Harola Sector 5, Bhangel, Sorkha and Mamura for the poor. Rotis from nearby housing complexes reach the kitchens, said the officials.