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Odisha: Cuttack Businessman Who Fed 70,000 Migrant Workers Last Year, Now Feeds Isolated COVID-19 Patients
Writer: Shubhendu Deshmukh
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Odisha, 7 May 2021 9:30 AM GMT
Editor : Rakshitha R |
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Creatives : Shubhendu Deshmukh
Shubhendu, the quint essential news junky, the man who loves science and politics in equal measure and offers the complete contrast to it by being a fan of urdu poetry as well.
For many families in Cuttack, Khemka is not less than a messiah. Just dial the foundation's number, and nutritious meals arrive at one's doorsteps. Through his organisation, Amulya Jeevan Foundation Trust, he is feeding COVID-19 patients under home isolation.
An Odisha businessman has set an example by feeding thousands of migrant labourers, daily wagers, and those in home isolation without any support.
When the pandemic struck last year, industrialist Avinash Khemka took to the highway and distributed food packets. Since April 16 the previous year, Khemka was on the streets proving food packets with the help of Cuttack Police, reported The New Indian Express.
During the first wave, the 47-year-old fed as many as 70,000 migrant workers who were forced to walk for hundreds of kilometres after being rendered jobless due to the lockdown. Not only did he feed the poor but also gave 200 workers a lift to their homes in his personal vehicle.
This year, Khemaka, through his organisation, Amulya Jeevan Foundation Trust, is feeding COVID-19 patients under home isolation amid the second wave.
For many families in Cuttack, Khemka is not less than a messiah. Just dial the foundation's number, and nutritious meals arrive at one's doorsteps. The meals contain rice, four rotis (flatbreads), mixed vegetable curry, fried vegetables, two bananas, a sweet and a biscuit packet along with a water bottle.
"We dialled the number given on the pamphlet and requested three meals. At 1 pm, the bell rang, and I found a man standing with the packets and three water bottles. He put the food and bottles on the floor and left," a family member who received food from Khemka told the media.
Unlike last year, although many states are resorting to lockdown now, the restrictions are partial and limited to some states this year. Khemka noticed that majority of the COVID-19 patients in the city had been advised home isolation. "Most of them are unable to arrange cooked food for themselves. Hence, I decided to supply food packets to them," he said.
Khemka, the owner of a biscuit company, gets help from his family members and his employees for his noble initiative. He started delivering food on Wednesday, May 5 and was able to provide food to nine families.
If you are a COVID-19 patient living in Cuttack and have no one to support and take care of, you can dial 8280-900-000 and book a meal. Luch is supplied from 12 pm to 1.30 pm, while dinner time is between 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm.
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