Former Indian batsman and current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Gautam Gambhir is fast making a name for himself with his humanitarian initiatives.
Gambhir, who was elected as an MP from East Delhi last year, has come up with yet another incredible initiative for his constituency. He has launched a community canteen service in East Delhi.
The former southpaw has launched ‘Jan Rasoi’ canteens that will serve lunch to the needy at Re. 1 in his parliamentary constituency. Gambhir has planned to open at least one ‘Jan Rasoi’ canteen in each of the 10 assembly constituencies in East Delhi.
On Thursday, Gambhir inaugurated the first such canteen in Gandhi Nagar, which will be followed by another in Ashok Nagar on Republic Day. The canteen will have a capacity to accommodate 100 people at a time, according to a statement released by Gambhir’s office.
However, the canteen will only allow 50 persons at present due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement also clarified that the initiative is being funded by Gautam Gambhir Foundation and the MP’s personal resources, and has no government support.
Speaking about this brilliant initiative, Gautam Gambhir highlighted the need for every person to have the right to healthy and hygienic food. He also expressed his disappointment over some people not being able to afford food even twice a day.
The 2011 World Cup winner also pointed out how the migrant laborers were forced out of Delhi due to lack of food in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“I have always felt that everybody has the right to healthy and hygienic food irrespective of caste, creed, religion, or financial condition. It is saddening to see the homeless and destitute not being able to get even two square meals a day. The ‘Jan Rasoi’ at Gandhi Nagar, one of the biggest wholesale garment markets in the country, will be a full modern canteen which will provide lunch to those in need for just Re 1,” Gambhir said in a release. “Some states run canteens which provide subsidized food to the needy but the national capital has no such facility where low-priced good food is made available to people. During the lockdown too, we witnessed thousands of migrant laborers being forced to leave the city due to lack of food and other basic resources.”
वादे नहीं, इरादे लाया हूँ…
ना मन्दिर से आरती, ना मस्जिद से आज़ान लाया हूँ…
ना राम का वास्ता, ना मोहम्मद की दुआ लाया हूँ…
इंसान हूँ, इंसान के लिए दो रोटी लाया हूँ….
वादे नहीं, इरादे लाया हूँ… #JanRasoi #FoodForAll pic.twitter.com/pFDm0MLWaR
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) December 24, 2020