Lockdown heroes: South Central Railway reaches out to over 2 lakh people with food in 25 days

HYDERABAD: Distribution of free meals by South Central Railway (SCR) during the nationwide lockdown has crossed the two lakh mark. More than 2.08 lakh people have been served in a duration of 25 days.
“Besides activating its own infrastructure and manpower resources, we have taken help from Indian Railways’ subsidiary, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).Base kitchens have been converted into round-the-clock service kitchen utility for staff to plan, procure material and cook meals continuously,” said Ch Rakesh, chief public relations officer, SCR, adding that out of the 2.08 lakh free meals supplied till date, about 1.48 lakh have been cooked and provided by IRCTC, and 60,000 meals by various departments and NGOs working with the railway organisations.

“Relief in terms of the free food supply is targeted at segments of migrant labour and daily wage earners who are being identified and catered, to reach the most affected,” he added. Officials inform that free food distribution also covers the licensed railway porters and sanitation workers.
According to an official statement from SCR, the entire food distribution mechanism has been chalked out with regard to setup of community food preparation points, packing of food, logistics, identification of needy sections and on-time supply.
Meanwhile, as part of supplying essentials with the help of special parcel trains, the Medchal railway station in the Hyderabad division has also been opened for parcel traffic to meet the demand of the local customers.