The South Central Railway (SCR) has been able to distribute free food to over 3 lakh needy people facing hard times due to Covid-19.
The zone had taken up the task upon the direction of Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal, who had called upon all the railway zones to reach out to the needy sections of the society with food and other assistance in these challenging times of the pandemic.
The initiative saw the coming together of all the railway personnel across the zone to contribute their bit to helping out. While the Railway Protection Force joined the initiative by helping both with the distribution of food and with ensuring that the task was done following adequate social distancing norms, personnel from all other departments (including commercial, engineering, stores, signal & telecommunication and workshops among others) voluntarily came forward with other means of support.
The SCR also partnered with IRCTC, which used its base kitchen at Vijayawada to prepare food for distribution. Proper care was taken to ensure that the food was prepared in the most hygienic conditions possible. Efforts were also undertaken to identify the requirements and staple food habits of the various sections of the people being catered to, so as to prepare food to suit their habits and taste.
Adequate care was also taken to assist the people who are dependent on the railways, as well. Licensed coolies, hamalis and safai karmacharis among others were given food packets and also a little cash at several locations to help them to tide over the testing times. Likewise, at the Central Hospital in Lalaguda, the patients' attendants were also given free food with the contributions made by the Women's Welfare Wing of the South Central Railway.
filed in:South Central Railway, Social Welfare, Good Deeds, Coronavirus