Delhi govt provides food to around 6.5 lakh people in one day: Statement

New Delhi, Apr 5 () The Delhi government provided lunch and dinner to around 6.5 lakh people at 1,500 food distribution centres across the city on Saturday, an official statement said.

The government also received 1,040 calls requesting for supply of food, it said.

On March 31, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the Delhi government will arrange facilities to feed 10 to 12 lakh people daily from April 1 in view of the coronavirus lockdown.

"We are feeding 3.5 lakh-4 lakh people daily until now, and we will start feeding 10-12 lakh people from tomorrow. Upon further deliberations on this, we found out that people were crowding at the food centres. So we decided to create more centres," Kejriwal had said.

"The government provided lunch to 6,48,469 people and dinner to 6,50,667 people at around 1,500 centres on April 4," the statement said.

Nearly 2,500 schools and 250-night shelters have started distributing food to 500 people a day, bringing the total number of distribution centres to nearly 2,800.

To ensure that the free meal scheme is equitably accessible to the needy so that they do not have to walk for miles looking for food, the Delhi government has made the schools and night shelters as key food distribution points. At the time of food distribution, the government is also ensuring social distancing, safety and sanitation for the people, the statement added. VIT DPB