Covid-19: Vedanta to distribute around 3 lakh meals to labourers, slum dwellers in Delhi

Vedanta Ltd on Tuesday said it will distributearound three lakh mealsto labourers, daily wage earners and slum dwellersin the national capital as part of efforts to support communities during the current coronavirus lockdown.

"Vedanta Ltd...has been distributing 10,000 meals per day to daily wage earners, slum dwellers and labourers sinceApril 1. Around 70,000 meals have been distributed till date to families in Old Delhi, Laxmi Bai Nagar, Ram Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Gole Market. Under this initiative, around 3 lakh meals will be distributed around Delhi by the end of the month," leading metal and mining firm said in a statement.

The families comprising of daily wage earners, slum-dwellers and labourers have been adversely impacted due to the current lockdown implemented to combat the deadly coronavirus.

This initiative of Vedanta is in partnership with the district administration, in which the meals are being distributed to affected areas as per thedirection from the district administration.

"The daily wage earners are our lifeline in our everyday life. Our Chairman Anil Agarwal has been in the forefront of extending all support to feed daily wage workers with our 'Meals for All' initiative. We have partnered AkshayaPatra who are extending this support to feed the needy inDelhi,said Ritu Jhingon, CEO of Nand Ghar project, Vedanta Ltd.

For this initiative, Vedanta has collaborated with AkshayaPatra Foundation, a non-profit organisation that runs the mid-day meal scheme in government and government-aided schools across India.

Nand Ghar is committed to the Prime Minister's national vision of eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare and empowering women with skill development.

We are immensely grateful to Vedanta for their support in these crucial times. Their generous contribution will enable us to serve freshly cooked meals to thousands of people from vulnerable communities, affected by the nation-wide lockdown. We are thankful to Chairman Anil Agarwal and Vedanta Group for providing us with the opportunity to serve the marginal society in NCR.

"Their timely involvement gives us the confidence to commit to the service of the people of our country," AkshayaPatra Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Sundeep Talwar said.

Vedanta has also set up a dedicated fund across the country to combat the widespread outbreak of deadly COVID-19. The fund will help in supporting the livelihood and healthcare of the daily wage workers, employees and contract workers and will provide timely help to communities in and around various plant locations of the company.

Moreover, Vedanta and its subsidiaries are working closely with communities across their locations on multiple development initiatives to combat the spread of the virus. All mobile health vans in operational areas of Vedanta Ltd will help in preventive healthcare extended to the local communities.