GDA and district admin provide food & shelter to 4,900 homeless labourers

Ghaziabad: In a bid to help homeless labourers, who have been hit by the nationwide lockdown, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and district administration are taking care of around 4,900 homeless labourers by providing them food, shelter, money and all other essential needs.

As per a senior GDA officer, around 75 shelter homes have been constructed at various places around the district to cater to the homeless people. "Authority along with the support of NGOs and social organisations are managing facilities at these shelter homes.

A regular inspection to monitor all the arrangements is being carried out by the teams comprising senior authority officials. We are ensuring an uninterrupted supply of cooked food and groceries for the needy people," said Sanjay Kumar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), GDA.

Meanwhile, the Authority has also asked the developers and contractors of these labourers not to stop giving them wages. "Till now, over Rs 1 crore 21 lakhs have been distributed among these labourers as wages and financial help through various developers. Counselling sessions are also being conducted where the Authority teams make these people aware of all the facilities provided to them by the government and developers," Kumar added.

The Ghaziabad district administration has set up eight quarantine centres in the district where 590 persons are kept. GDA is also managing supply of meals four times per day in these centres through their community kitchen. Officials said that 750 packets of cooked food along with snacks for children are being supplied four times a day.