Even as the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has stopped its free food distribution programme taken up from the start of the lock down period, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) chipped in with a similar feeding programme. Though the scheme is taken up on a smaller scale, it reaches out to parts of three contiguous constituencies - Tirupati, Chandragiri and Srikalahasti.
The TTD had cooked food in its own kitchen by using employees from SV Annaprasadam Scheme and distributed 1.4 lakh free food packets till a couple of days back. The temple management decided to withdraw the same after the government announced partial relaxation from the lock down.
Food, still a far cry
Though the relaxation enabled some to pursue their livelihoods, the situation of several sectors remains pathetic. Morsels of food still remain a far cry for the migrant workers, slum dwellers, and impoverished sections of the society.
It was at then that the ISKCON came forward to provide meals to migrant labourers, homeless poor, and stranded pilgrims, in reponse to a request from the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) Commissioner P.S. Girisha. A similar appeal came from Joint Collector II Chandra Mouli and Revenue Divisional Officer Kanaka Narasa Reddy to extend the horizons of the scheme to nearby areas outside MCT’s ambit. “We are serving food to 7,000 people a day, which includes 1,400 in MCT area and 5,400 beyond, such as Thimminaidupalem, Settipalle and Renigunta,” says ISKCON Tirupati unit President Revati Ramandas.
Monitored by the State
All the beneficiaries get three sumptuous servings a day, such as breakfast, lunch and dinner. The mixed rice cooked in ISKCON’s central kitchen is transferred into huge containers and transported to the respective destinations, where it is served to the beneficiaries by the State-monitored machinery. The meals are provided at a cost-to-cost basis, as the government agreed to meet the basic expenses.
The original plan was to run the scheme till the lock down period. But ISKCON authorities are bracing up with a firm schedule and financial outlay for a longer period, with talk of extending the lock down making rounds.
