New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday launched a food distribution programme for homeless people living in government-run night shelters or 'rain basera' located in different parts of the national capital.
Now, all homeless people living in 209 shelters of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) under the Delhi government will be provided 'lunch and dinner' free of cost by Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bengaluru-based NGO.
IANS was the first to report this development on August 5 that DUSIB, which runs night shelters to provide accommodation to homeless people in the city, has permitted the NGO to distribute meal to the people at all the night shelters.
The programme to distribute free food was launched from a shelter at Sarai Kale Khan on Sunday. While launching the programme, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that free cooked meals will be provided to nearly 6,000 people living in all 209 shelters.
"Those living in night shelters are considered the poorest of the poor people of the society and are not the vote bank of any party, so no government paid attention to them. This is the first time a responsible government is paying attention to the poor," Kejriwal said.
"The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is a responsible government and we have worked a lot for the poor. I am happy to launch this free food distribution programme today," Kejriwal said further.
He further added that the condition of these night shelters has improved in the last five years. "I personally conducted inspections of toilets and potable water in shelter homes. And today, the condition is good," he added.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal expressed his gratitude to Akshay Patra Foundation for coming forward to help poor people with providing them hygienic food.
The DUSIB runs as many as 209 shelter homes across the city that caters to nearly 6,000 people per day and this goes up to 12,000 during the winter.
Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, "Akshaya Patra is conscious of its responsibility towards society. We have always strived to assist the government's efforts to bring relief to people during emergencies. We will continue with this as long as we can."
Earlier, IANS was informed that Akshay Patra Foundation has been permitted to distribute cooked food from its own three kitchens in Delhi for the next six months.
Akshay Patra Foundation has claimed that food will be served free of cost, however, it expects to get some donation from the government also in future.