Coronavirus: Surat's Mega Kitchen amid lockdown

Despite countrywide lockdown, there is a mega kitchen running in Surat where food is prepared for 40,000 daily wage workers and other needy people. The mega kitchen is being managed by Akshay Patra organisation, which used to prepare mid-day meal for school children.

Surat (Gujarat): Anyone would be awestruck seeing a mega kitchen running in the city under the countrywide lockdown being observed to prevent the spread of the pandemic COVID-19. The food prepared in the mega kitchen is distributed among 40,000 people – daily wage labourers and other needy people in different localities. Surat has a very large number of labourers working in the organised sector.

The Surat Municipal Corporation has entrusted the responsibility of running the mega kitchen to Akshay Patra organisation which used to prepare mid-day meal for school children before all schools were closed down. The food prepared at the mega kitchen is distributed twice a day. The morning fare comprises of daal and rice while the evening meal is of khichdi and kadhi.

There are thousands of labourers in the city for whom sustaining during the lockdown is difficult. The Surat Municipal Corporation started collecting donations from the public in the form of rice, daal and other essential ingredients meant for cooking food and entrusted the task of preparing food to the Akshaya Patra.

The organization, besides cooking, also distributes cooked meals among labourers and other needy persons residing in Parvat Patiya, Pandesara, Limbayat, Udhna, Sachin, Amroli and other localities of the city.