Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey appreciated the efforts of No Food Waste, an NGO, in distributing surplus food to the needy during his visit to Coimbatore on Saturday.
A press release from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) said that District Collector G.S. Sameeran, who accompanied Mr. Pandey, apprised him regarding the works carried out by No Food Waste, which was recently granted the Special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Appreciating the NGO’s founder Padmanaban Gopalan, the Union Food Secretary “expressed his desire to share this initiative at the national level,” the release said. A meeting will be scheduled to take this initiative to other States once a mobile application is developed for the NGO, according to the release.
During his visit, Mr. Pandey inspected FCI’s godown in Peelamedu and checked the quality of food grains (rice and wheat) that was meant to be distributed under the welfare schemes of the Union government. He also inspected a public distribution system outlet at Peelamedu and the Chinthamani Co-Operative Super Market at R.S. Puram.
He “impressed upon the need for optimum utilisation of the assets of FCI under Asset Monetisation Scheme” and advised the District Collector to organise an awareness campaign on the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme in Coimbatore district, the release said.
Along with Mr. Sameeran, FCI officials namely Chief General Manager (South Zone) Sanjeev Gautam, General Manager (Tamil Nadu) P.N. Singh and Divisional Manager (Coimbatore) N. Rajesh were present during the inspection.
