NGO gets charge of Mansa Sanjhi Rasoi

MANSA: The district administration launched a ‘Saanjhi Rasoi’ (community kitchen), aimed at providing subsidised food to the poor on Monday at Mother and Child Care Hospital in Mansa. However, unlike other districts, an NGO headed by a former SAD councillor will look after it and not District Red Cross Society.

The NGO, ‘Shiv & Parvati Langar Committee,’ headed by former SAD councillor Surinder Bhamma, looked after the preparation of meals on the opening day. “We have been running free langar service on the civil hospital premises for the past one-andhalf-year. The district administration asked us to manage the kitchen and we have accepted the offer,” said Bhamma.

The ‘Saanjhi Rasoi’ has been opened in the hospital, which is situated next to the civil hospital building where the NGO is already running a free langar service. “The timing of langar at civil hospital and Saanjhi Rasoi is almost same, and it will not be flop,” he said. The motto behind this canteen is to establish it at such a location where there will be maximum footfall so that it can cater to a lot of people.

However, with a free langar running in the neighbouring civil hospital, many fear that people will be reluctant to pay for food

DC Dharam Pal Gupta said that on the first day the expenses of the Rasoi was managed by monetary donations of all employees working in his office. “Lot of our employees have voluntarily donated for the community kitchen. Moreover, an NGO has been roped in to take care of the daily working.”