Afree meal initiative at Telangana's Nizamabad Government Hospital, which has fed over 7 lakh people in the last three years, has become a saviour for many in the city.
The initiative was started by K Kavitha, the first woman parliamentarian of Telangana and ex-Nizamabad MP. with the aim to provide hygienic and healthy food to students, patients and their attendants at government hospitals in Nizamabad, Armoor and Bodhan.
The initiative started with Nizamabad Government Hospital and Nizamabad Library, both of which, at an average, feed more than 750 people a day.
The first centre was launched on November 8, 2017, at Nizamabad GGH. A free food centre at the Bodhan Government Hospital was later launched on April 26, 2018, while one at Armoor Government Hospital was launched on July 5, 2018. The second centre in Nizamabad was launched at the City Library on July 15, 2018
The "Free Meal" initiative will enter its fourth year on Sunday.
"The inspiration behind this campaign was to attend to the problems faced by patients and the attendants at hospitals to provide hygienic, healthy and free meals to patients and their attendants. This was effective especially for those patients who could not afford to spend hundreds a day over food along with other medical expenses," Kavitha said.
The centres are now feeding 1,500 people daily and have been a blessing for many during the Covid-19-introduced lockdown.
"The lockdown that nobody anticipated left everybody in shock. The burn was felt by each one of us but it was the poor people and daily wage workers who felt it the most. It was in this time that Free Meal Centres went ahead and started serving at migrant centres, reached out to migrants who walked back home along with the routine functions of the centres,‘’ Kavitha said.During the mass migrant migration, the centres have served over 2500 food packets a day to those walking to their hometowns.