Railways has offered to supply 2.6 lakh meals daily from its various kitchens to all those districts which are willing to pick up cooked meals and distribute among the needy, the ministry said on Wednesday. This has been communicated to district authorities all over the country, it said.
“Details of zone-wise kitchen in charges have also been communicated to the states. The offer of 2.6 lakh meals per day is based on the kitchen capacities of the earmarked initial locations. If the need arises, more such locations can be ramped up to boost the supply. These meals will be available at just cost basis at Rs 15 a meal. Payments settlement can be done by the state governments at a later stage,” it said.
Clarifying about the amount, railway officials said states will be charged if they want railways to cook additional meals for them.
IRCTC has agreed to ramp up the number of cooked meals as per demand.
Nearly one lakh free hot cooked meals are already being distributed by Indian Railways daily.
The IRCTC kitchens gearing up to serve the needy persons in case of demand include Gaya, Deen Dayal (Mugalsarai), Rajinder Nagar (Patna), Samastipur, Dhanbad, Hajipur, Katihar, Guwahati, Ranchi, Balasore, Tatanagar and Howrah in East Zone; and New Delhi and Prayagraj in North Zone.
Vijayawada, Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam and Raipur in South Central Zone; Bangalore, Hubli, Tiruchirappalli, Katpadi, Ch Engalpa Ttu and Madurai in South Zone; and Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bhusaval in West Zone are also gearing up.
