Govt ensures supply of food to elderly residents in New Town, Salt Lake & Rajarhat

Kolkata: The state Panchayat and Rural development department has taken measures to ensure supply of organic vegetables, quality fish and meat and a variety of grocery items like rice, pulses, spices etc directly at the doorsteps of elderly people of New Town, Salt Lake and Rajarhat area with the state under lockdown till April 14.

"These areas at the outskirts of the city has a reasonably high population of elderly and in most cases, their children and family members are settled abroad. Our minister Subrata Mukherjee has directed us to supply essential things right at their doorstep. The elderly with a history of age-related ailments are at a far greater risk of getting affected with COVID 19 virus. So the advice of staying at home is ought to be followed more strictly by the aged. They are placing orders and we are delivering at their doorstep," said a senior official of Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (CADC) an autonomous organisation under the Panchayat department that is executing this matter.

CADC products are all-natural and do not have any sort of preservative that gives a stamp of uniqueness. It has 22 farmhouses spanned across districts like Hooghly, West and East Midnapore, Purulia, Nadia to name a few where vegetables are cultivated through an organic process. Mainly, women from the Self Help Group are engaged in the cultivation of these vegetables using bio-fertiliser and bio-pesticides. Apart from the conventional fine rice, tulaipanji, black rice, dhenki chata chal is also being supplied. The vehicles are equipped for storing both refrigerated and non-refrigerated products.

Kadaknath Chicken, Black Bengal goat, Turkey and desi chicken from farms at Haringhata in Nadia, dry fishes at Tamluk, mushroom at Siliguri, - all cultivated under the supervision of CADC are some of its important products.

The farmers are not being able to sell their products due to non-availability of vehicles during this lockdown period.

"We are procuring things from them and are bringing it to our head office at Salt Lake. From there we are sending them to Sufal Bangla stalls and Krishak Bazars for marketing. It is a big challenge but we are trying our best," said the official.