SHILLONG: With the hill city growing at an unprecedented rate in the last two decades, the number of urban poor has increased at an equal pace raising various socio-economic and survival questions.
At this juncture, when expressions like food security, poverty, human development index et al create an impenetrable world accessed only by economists and experts alike, a humble organisation in the city has come up with a novel idea that will help many poor families tide over food insecurity.
Ardhendu Chaudhuri Charitable Trust, an NGO, will launch Aahar, a programme under which lunch will be served at a negligible price of Rs 5, on Saturday in front of Harak Chand Jain’s house in Jhalupara.
The programme, which is the first such venture in Shillong, will be launched to commemorate the 14th death anniversary of Ardhendu Chaudhuri, who was the MLA of Mawprem.
Chaudhuri and nine others had perished on a stormy afternoon in a chopper crash in a hill near Kyrdemkulai, about 25km from here.
The trust professes to perpetuate the memory of Chaudhuri in the true spirit of “Service Above Self, a path chartered by this rare breed public man who endeared himself through his proactive good Samaritan actions”, said former MLA Manas Chaudhuri, the managing trustee.
The ambitious lunch project, Aahar that literally means meal, envisages serving one meal to all.
The token amount of Rs 5 will buy a simple food that would cost about Rs 50 in the market.
The trust will fund the programme from its own resources and also depend on philanthropic citizens who can contribute to the cause to celebrate birthdays and similar other personal milestones.
As per arrangements made by the trust, food will be served everyday between 12 noon and 2 pm at a vantage point near Jhalupara in the Shillong Cantonment area.
Food will be served by volunteers on rotation basis. A solid waste disposal system will be in place.
Trust members have said this programme will continue indefinitely so long as resources are available and public extend a helping hand.
