The East Singhbhum district administration has started distributing food among those worst hit by the lockdown to ensure people don’t have to flout rules because of hunger.

Deputy commissioner (DC) Ravi Shankar Shukla on Monday said the district administration along with NGOs, corporate groups and businessmen has started providing cooked food to the poor, the elderly and the disabled on their doorstep in both rural and urban areas.

“We have collected data about the elderly, poor and the handicapped among the financially weaker section of the society and are reaching out to them with food packets in vans both in the afternoon and evening. Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) will be coordinating the distribution in the urban areas,” DC Shukla said.

Bharatiya Jan Morcha, the outfit founded by Jamshedpur East MLA Saryu Roy, has joined hands with the district administration.

The Morcha has been distributing food packets among the poor since Saturday.

“Acting on the suggestion of the East Singhbhum DC, we met JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar who informed about a special number, 0657-2423280, that anybody can call up to inform about any elderly or physically challenged person who has not been getting ration or food supplies,” said Ram Narayan Sharma, district convener of the outfit.

“The civic body will supply food through the police-station-level community kitchens,” he added.

Apart from the Mukhya Mantri Canteen Yojana that is operational in Sakchi, Sonari and Mango, all the 35 police stations in the district have started community kitchens to provide free food to the poor during the lockdown.

Tata Steel has also agreed to provide food to 50,000 people.

The JNAC has teamed up with Hindustan Petroleum to provide meals on wheels to the poor in different parts of the city.

West Singhbhum deputy commissioner Arava Rajkamal and superintendent of police Indrajit Mahatha have rolled out the facility in that district too.

Director-general of police Mandava V. Rao has been tweeting about such initiaves to feed the poor at police stations across the state.

Market barricades

The steel city police on Monday put up bamboo barricades at the entry points to the vegetable markets in Sakchi to avoid over-crowding.

“We have shifted the vegetable shops to spacious places in Baradwari, Shitla Mandir ground in Sakchi and the parking lot near Basant Talkies so that people can maintain social distancing norms even while purchasing vegetables,” JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar said. On Monday, 287 persons were detained till 6pm for flouting the lockdown in the steel city. They were later released with a warning.