A group of police constables have providing lunch daily for the last fornight to about 200 stranded labourers in Mangaluru from their own savings.
They have hired a cook for preparing the lunch, which requires 25 kgs rice and other groceries.
The group consists of three head constables, including two women, and eight constables, covering a woman. All of them are attached to Mangaluru North Police Station.
“Having come from a moderate background, we understand what hunger is,” constable Thippareddappa told The Hindu .
The jurisdiction of the station covers the central business district areas of fishing harbour, the city bus stand and the central market which are frequented by labourers from North Karnataka and other states. Though these areas have not seen any activity since the lockdown, labourers continue to flock the area.
“Though many persons are distributing food to the poor since the lockdown, not all hungry people are getting it. We came across incidents of some labourers eating stale food as they were not getting food daily,” he said.
Others who have joined hands in this initiative are Bharath, Pushparani and Manjula, all head constables, Shambhavi, Sadananda, Mahadeva, Raghu, Manish, Sagar Ratnakar and Praveen, all constables.
“We started with about 100 packets. Now we distribute around 200 every day,” he said, refusing to disclose the cost they are incurring. “We are glad to get an opportunity to serve the needy in this hour of crisis,” he said adding that the labourers are served pulav in packets.
Those personnel who complete their duty hours use a private vehicle to distribute the food. They ensure social distancing while doing so.
Similarly, a group of clerical staff at Dakshina Kannada District Court have been distributing food packets to the poor in the city since March 22.
