Arup Singla, a man from Punjab, used to visit his relatives admitted to the civil hospital, Sangrur. There he came to know about their health condition. He realised that they were suffering from malnutrition and other ailments. Most of the patients belonged from financially weaker backgrounds.
Arup Singla decided to come up with a solution for the problem. With the help of Punjab government, they built a building near the hospital with a kitchen to cook food. Arup, under his NGO Shri Durga Sewa Dal, started providing meals four times a day which included breakfast, lunch, evening tea, and dinner for the patients and their attendants in the civil hospital, cancer hospital and the red cross de-addiction centre for free. They have set up individual counters in all the wards of the hospital.
“During the initial stage, Dal members have contributed from their pocket. It was the only source to buy the raw materials. But, now, apart from our contribution, we get donations from other people”, Arup told The Logical Indian.
The initiative started in 2004. Every day, Arup and his team catered to almost 350 to 550 people. Even though some members were hesitant to give money for such an initiative during the initial stage, they all joined hands together later. There was a certain time when Arup also thought about selling his property.
The NGO consists of 500 volunteers, and 30 to 40 people serve every day. The building is in the backyard of civil hospital. They meet a daily expense of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. Besides feeding the patients, the NGO also provides free education and regular courses like embroidery and beautician course for financially backward girls.
“We always provide our full support to our father’s initiative, both economically and mentally”, said Dheeraj Singla, Arup’s son to The Logical Indian.
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