Bby IANS,
New Delhi : Spicing up proceedings for the thousands gathered at Ramlila Maidan in support of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption fast is an ‘Anna Ki Rasoi’, a kitchen that has already fed more than 200,000 people in six days.
Started by a troika — Mahendra Goel, Bharat Bhushan and Anil Jain, Anna Ki Rasoi (Anna’s Kitchen) is geared to feed the swelling numbers at the ground and add zest to the campaign for a stronger anti-graft bill.
“We have already fed around two lakh people so far. We have 200 cooks who work in shifts and we plan to provide food till Annaji is here,” said Goel.
According to Goel, people have been donating raw material — flour, pulses, spices and vegetables — to them which helps them provide piping hot food to the masses.
“Some are coming with flour, some with spices and other cooking ingredients,” said Goel.
“A total of 200 quintals of rice was cooked yesterday (Sunday) for the protesters who turned up at the Maidan in their highest number since Aug 16,” said Jain.
Mini trucks, loaded with tonnes of potatoes were sighted in Ramlila Maidan Monday.
“I have to unload these potato sacks which have come from Jalandhar in Punjab,” the truck driver, who is from Azadpur Mandi, told IANS.
Sitting in a mini lorry, Tejpal Singh is distributing ‘rajma chawal’ to an ever-growing serpentine queue of protesters at the ground.
“We are with Anna and will keep distributing food till our stock runs out,” he declared.
On the lines of Anna Ki Rasoi, Jan Sansthan Seva Sangh from Rohtak in Haryana has also fed around 20,000 people since Sunday.