Ajmal Foundation on Wednesday donated Rs 2 lakh to the Khalsa Centre North East for providing food to the hungry during the lockdown on its premises at Morakhali in the city.

The foundation has helped over 70,000 people during the lockdown by providing food and other essentials, said a statement of the foundation.

The Khalsa Centre North East has been providing food to 5,000 people daily from Azara (near the airport) in the west to Narengi in the east.

The organisation, with nearly 25 members, has been concentrating on development of slums along the railway tracks.

They started providing daily meals to 1,500 people since March 27.

P.P. Singh of the centre thanked the foundation and also appealed to the government to set up a community kitchen.

“We swung into action from the second day of the lockdown. We cooked khichdi and carried it to different areas of the city. We set up langars at the railway gates near the slums where there are hundreds of

inhabitants. The primary challenge for us is to ensure social distancing and maintaining hygiene. The police and the Kamrup (metro) district administration are helping us with logistics while individuals are providing monetary help,” Singh told this correspondent.

He added that khichdi, a mix of seven types of vegetables and three types of daal, was served hot.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel offered benevolent service in Borbari, VIP Road, Six Mile, Khanapara, Jaynagar and Beltola areas of Guwahati and fed more than 150 street dogs who are without food due to the lockdown.

NDRF personnel coordinated with Puppy Rescue Crew Foundation, an NGO in Guwahati and were praised by all.

Aid for inmates: Chaygaon MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed visited the Ashadeep Rehabilitation centre for the mentally challenged at Bamunigaon under Chaygaon constituency on Wednesday and distributed hand sanitisers and masks among the inmates and staff.

Ahmed lauded ASHADEEP for its noble initiative.

Additional reporting by Kulendu Kalita in Chaygaon