Coronavirus: Chandigarh University distributes cooked food to nearby villages
Amid the coronavirus-led lockdown, Chandigarh University in Gharuan is distributing cooked meals twice a day to the poor and needy of six neighbouring villages.
The world has been grappled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 802,831 positive cases and 39,020 deaths globally, according to Worldometer, a global statistics database. And as of Tuesday, India has about 1,251 positive cases.
Despite the 21-day lockdown across the country, migrant workers and labourers have been on a mass exodus, trying to return to their hometowns as the situation has deprived them of their work. But due to lack of transportation, they are found crowding at bus stations to travel back home, and further, many families have been forced to walk more than 200 km to reach their destinations.
The Chandigarh University students distributing food (Image: ANI)
However, on a slightly brighter side, some states have set up soup kitchens to provide these people with food, and have also instructed the policemen to hand out food packets.
In light of the dire situation, Chandigarh University in Gharuan, Mohali, is distributing cooked meals twice a day to the poor and needy of six neighbourhood villages - Gharuan, Batta, Mankheri, Mamupur, Roorkee Pukta, and Madauli.
According to Edex Live, Jai Vardhan, one of the volunteers said, "We are currently catering to feed about 500 persons daily, but we can increase our capacity if more demand arises in the coming days."
The distribution started on the first day of the lockdown and shall continue throughout the 21 days. After being cooked at the university’s mess, the food is then transported to these villages with the institution’s transportation facilities.
"Although the Punjab government is ensuring the distribution of food to the poor and needy community throughout the state, yet as an institution, it is our social responsibility to help the lower sections of the society in whatever form we can," Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor, Chandigarh University told ANI.
He added that the university is also running an awareness campaign to educate the residents of villages about the safety precautions to be undertaken from the dreaded pandemic.
Apart from the food, the University’s Department of Applied Health Sciences is preparing sanitisers which are being distributed in villages, old age homes, and orphanages.
To date, Chandigarh has seen about 13 cases. The COVID-19 situation, so far, has taken about 32 lives in India.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
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