10 lakh migrants staying in shelters, 85 lakh meals provided since March 24, Centre’s data says

New Delhi, Apr 09: The Haryana and Delhi governments provided two out of every three meals given to migrant workers and the needy through food camps during the lockdown. While Kerala did not give out any meals through food camps, it provided shelter to nearly half the people given shelter across the country, the Union Government said in a report submitted in the Supreme Court.

The government said that out of the 54.15 lakh meals given to people by the different state governments, 22.38 lakh meals were provided by Haryana. In the case of Delhi, it is 12.32 lakh.

Uttar Pradesh provided 6.84 meals, while in the case of Uttarakhand it was 2.65 lakh. Punjab and Jharkhand provided 1.94 lakh and 1.22 lakh meals respectively, while in the case of Karnataka it was 1.12 lakh.

Kerala on the other hand provided shelter to more than 3 lakh people. The total number of people given shelter across the country is at 6.31 lakh. The UP government provided shelter to 1 lakh people, while in the case of Bihar it was 14,352. Delhi provided shelter to 4,788 and in the case of Maharashtra it was 73,492. The Centre said Punjab gave shelter to 1,400 people.

The data also revealed that 15 lakh workers were given shelter and food by the employers and industry associations, which overlaps with sheltered food provided by some NGOS in few states. NGOs in Maharashtra and associations have provided shelter to 3.73 lakh workers.

The government said that the states are operating 7,848 food camps across the countries, while in the case of the NGOs it was 9,473. The Centre also said that it has given approval to these NGOs to buy rice and wheat from the Food Corporation of India.

Over 10 lakh people are staying in shelters run by the state governments and NGOs. 85 lakh meals have been delivered since the lockdown was announced on March 24.