Hill kitchens help frontline workers

SNS, 12 April 2020, DARJEELING: As part of its fight against the novel coronavirus, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration(GTA), along with the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (Binoy Tamang faction), has started 'community kitchens' in various parts of the Hills. The one such kitchen in Darjeeling town is set to cater to frontline workers who are dedicating their time in the administration's fight against Covid-19. The kitchen here will also feed people who have been kept in quarantine centres.

"Two such kitchens have already started operations in Kalimpong and Kurseong. The mainp purpose of the community kitchens is to provide food prepared hygienically to people like health staff, police and the municipality staff who are on duty for Covid- 19. By Tuesday. some quarantine centres will also be opened in Darjeeling and food will also be provided there too," Morcha leader Binoy Tamang said.

According to him, the 'community kitchen' in Darjeeling will cater to about 150 to 175 people every day, which will include meals for three times a day.

"COVID-19 has affected everyone, and at this hour of need, frontline workers, daily wage earners, police, and health care givers need our support. The community kitchen initiative started from Kalimpong and needs to be replicated at every place. If food is provided on time and at their work place health workers can save time, as they don't have to run to their homes,"GTA chairman Anit Thapa said in a press release.

Keeping in mind people of this area stranded in different places due to the nationwide lockdown, the GTA has also introduced helpline numbers for Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

"People from the GTA region, mostly students, professionals, beauticians, trainees, and businessmen, who are stranded have gone on panic mode, and they need immediate help and may also require assistance to return to their home whenever the lockdown is lifted," Mr Thapa said.

The numbers provided by the GTA are 9986738084 for Banagalore and Chennai, 8104413301 for Mumbai, 8107244579 for Kolkata and 9810447983 for Delhi.

"As of now, the GTA will provide food grains and other essential commodities to those people in distress in the above-mentioned areas and will come forward to help them if any medical help is required," Mr Thapa added.

According to Mr Thapa, the GTA has further decided to use a free helpline to offer mental health counselling to people "Mr Gyanendra Rai, who is from Darjeeling and is a counsellor working for the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, has agreed to volunteer tele-counselling for people who are going throuh mental health concern in the GTA region" he said.