COVID-19: Taj trust distributed more than 1.6 million meals to doctors, migrant workers

For the meals, the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust has partnered with chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

In the wake of COVID-19 crisis, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has been providing meals to doctors, healthcare workers and migrant workers, across the country.

In 2008, IHCL created the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust (TPSWT) to offer relief to victims of natural or man-made disasters. This time, IHCL, together with TPSWT, are working with local authorities to provide food to those in need. So far, they have distributed over 1.65 million meals, according to a press release. The initiative was started on March 23, 2020.

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As of now, TPSWT is providing meals at key hospitals and COVID-19 centres in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. The meals are prepared by TajSATS in Mumbai and New Delhi. The initiative is now being extended to Coimbatore and Agra. Some of the hospitals include Kasturba Hospital, The King Edward Memorial Hospital and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, in Mumbai; Victoria Hospital and Old Diseases Hospital in Bengaluru; and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, G B Pant Hospital and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Delhi, among several others.

For the meals, the trust has partnered with chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

“As the country began its fight against the pandemic, the medical community quickly came to the fore as the true heroes of the crisis. With the resultant lockdown, IHCL committed itself to providing meals for doctors, healthcare workers and migrant workers. Now, after nearly 1.6 million meals distributed, we at IHCL have decided to continue offering the initiative for another month. Our decision was based on popular requests from the medical fraternity and our continuing strong relationship with the BMC. This effort wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Tata group companies who in true Tata spirit came together to enable us to continue providing this service. We are deeply grateful to the medical community for their sacrifice and dedication during these challenging times,” Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and CEO, IHCL, said in a statement.

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Besides, 11 IHCL hotels across the country have offered rooms to the medical fraternity, including Taj Lands End, Taj Santacruz, The President and Ginger Andheri East in Mumbai; Ginger Madgaon; Ginger City Centre, Noida; Ginger New Delhi Rail Yatri Niwas; Ginger Kalinganagar; Ginger Manesar; Ginger Surat and Vivanta Guwahati. Additionally, 38 IHCL branded hotels are being used for quarantine purposes for guests which includes the repatriation flights.