Dr Manjinder Singh Dhaliwal (Vice President, Office of student outreach, Chitkara University).
DR MANJINDER SINGH DHALIWAL (VICE-PRESIDENT, OFFICE OF STUDENT OUTREACH, CHITKARA UNIVERSITY)
Please tell us about your initiative
We set up a langar at Baba Deep Singh Gurudwara Nanaksar, Dhanas Sector-14, Chandigarh, about four years back, under the aegis of Vishwa Dharam Sewa Shanti Mission Society. We are a group of working individuals who take out time to serve people through this initiative. We have also been supplying meals to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research and other city hospitals.
Obstacles
With the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, the langar service was temporarily discontinued as a preventive measure from March 20. But we took the matter to the Chandigarh Administration and as soon as we got a green light, we resumed work from March 24.
At present
We have been working closely with the Chandigarh Administration to provide food to those identified by the authorities as needy. We serve up to an estimated 5,000 meals every single day. To that end, the government has ensured an uninterrupted supply of ration to us. The meals are distributed through government officials.
What steps are you taking to ensure that there is no transmission?
We are maintaining high standards of hygiene and social-distancing. The people preparing langar are very aware about personal cleanliness and washing their hands frequently.
Message
Don’t do it for show. If you are extending a helping hand to the needy, do it purely out of goodwill. We do not take any photographs while distributing food to those in need, for we don’t believe in tokenism.