Sikh body to provide free packed food to homebound migrant workers, students

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee on Monday said it will provide free packed food to migrant workers, pilgrims and students travelling home in special non-stop trains after being stranded for over a month due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Sikh body will provide vegetarian food kits to all homebound passengers, sufficient for the entire travel period, its president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

He said DSGMC volunteers will start distributing food packets to passengers at New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Railway Station, Nizammudin, Anand Vihar Railway Station on Monday, depending on the route of the train.

The volunteers will coordinate with railway authorities to ensure timely distribution of food packets among passengers.

"Every effort will be made to provide fresh, hot and nutritious langar meal to homebound passengers to make their journey comfortable," Sirsa said.

The food will be prepared by professionals working in gurdwaras for several years. In the past couple of weeks, these cooks have been working 15-16 hours every day to meet the growing demand for meals, he said.

A mini truck will be used to transport food to various railways stations from time to time.

Last week, a Delhi Police team led by Central DCP Eish Singhal undertook 'parikrama' of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to express gratitude to the DSGMC for their commitment and support in fighting COVID-19.

The DSGMC has also provided accommodation to around 200 doctors and paramedical staff deployed on COVID-19 duties in AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lady Hardinge Hospital, at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, Gurdwara Moti Bag and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.