Agra, Jan 9 Senior citizens, who for any reason are not able to cook their own food, will benefit from a new tiffin service launched on Saturday by Satya Mev Trust, a charity organisation of the Taj city.
The tiffin contains boiled rice, chapatis, subzi, daal, salad, and a piece of sweet.
Though the service is free, one can also donate to the organisation if he or she wishes to do so.
Gautam Seth, a functionary of Satya Mev Trust, said: "In far-flung colonies and multi-storeyed complexes in the city, there are scores of elderly couples who are living alone, and have no facility or are physically handicapped due to advanced age, to prepare their own meals. The tiffin service will reach out to them. It is voluntary."
"We have adequate resources and infrastructure to reach out to a large number of families in the city."
The food is hygienically prepared by the trained staff of Maa ki Rasoi, which provides quality food to hundreds of people daily for a token payment of Rs 5 only.
The free tiffin service is unique in India.
"These days a large number of elderly people are living alone in flats, as their children have left them for greener pastures. Many are physically unfit to prepare their daily meals. We are targeting such people. For us, there is no distinction of class, caste, or community. We have circulated our phone numbers. Those who need the service have to just ring us," said Ashok Goyal, a trustee of Satya Mev Trust which is involved in a variety of social services in the city.
Goyal said Agra has a long tradition of social service by voluntary agencies.
The Kshetra Bajaja Samiti has been providing services at various cremation grounds, running a fleet of ambulances, and providing free food to the needy for more than a century.
Another Trust in the city, Annapoorna, run by leading shoe exporter Pooran Dawar provides food at Rs 10 at its four outlets in the city.
"During the lockdown, thousands of packets of food were daily distributed in containment zones. No one in the city went without food for months," a functionary said.
The "good samaritans" of Agra provide free drinking water through a network of water huts run by Sri Nathji Nishulk Jal Sewa.
Several other organisations are running night shelters and providing quilts or blankets to the needy.
(Brij Khandelwal can be reached at agrabrij@gmail.com)
( With inputs from IANS )
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