Over three weeks into the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people lining up outside community kitchens said they were completely dependent on the cooked meals being distributed as all their resources had dried up.
Many complained that despite the State government’s announcement, free ration was not being provided to those who did not have ration cards; others said that due to lack of cash in hand, they were unable to buy other raw material or procure gas cylinders and hence, depended on the cooked food being handed out at the distribution centres.
“I have been out of work since the lockdown started and have a family of seven to feed. All our resources have been used up. We do not even have money to get other raw materials or a gas cylinder. How can we cook at home under such circumstances? The cooked food being provided at the distribution centre is our only hope,” said 60-year-old Ganesh Prasad, an e-rickshaw operator, for whom waiting in an hour-long queue twice a day has become routine.
Options running out
Waiting outside a municipal school in Govindpuri, Mohammad Altaf, a tailor, added: “I have been on the lookout for any kind of work but have found nothing. There is only a certain point till which we can ask others for help. Now even those options are running out.”
A resident of a transit camp in the area, Altaf said, “When food is distributed, they give food for two people per family. But we have large families. So we take turns to stand in line and collect the cooked food. It takes time, but we have no other option.”
Naresh Sharma, a carpenter who lives near Okhla Mandi, said, “I am from Bihar and don’t have a ration card in Delhi. I tried once to get ration and stood in line but the stock ran out by the time my turn came. I haven’t tried again and have been depending on the meals served by authorities.”
Balli, a 55-year-old sanitation worker from Badarpur, said, “I have tried a multiple times to get ration without having a card but have been denied every time. They ask us to get a coupon and when we try to get that, it keeps showing that its being ‘processed’. How long can we wait? It’s best to have whatever we are being provided with in terms of the cooked meals.”
For Radha Gupta, a resident of Madanpur Khadar, collecting ration has meant a 30-minute walk to the nearest school. The sole earner in a family of eight, Gupta, who work as a domestic help, said, “This is the first time I managed to collect the ration and I got my e-coupon a day ago. For the last few days, my children are sleeping almost hungry as all we could manage was one roti per person. I have not been able to collect my salary as the roads are blocked and I could not travel.”
Accompanied by her 11-year-old daughter, Gupta said, “I do not know how to sustain the family and there is nobody supporting me. We do not even have basic essential items. How am I supposed to keep my children healthy in such a situation? Whom do I ask for help?”
