Bhubaneswar: JSPL Foundation, the social arm of Jindal Steel & Power, served over 1 million devotees during this year’s Rath Yatra festival.
Under the guidance of Chairperson Shallu Jindal, the foundation provided freshly-cooked food, chilled drinking water and glucose packets to devotees from Netrotsav Day on June 19 to Sunabesha on June 29.
Under its Mission Zero Hunger programme, the foundation served 10.5 lakh hot, cooked meals which included rice, dalma (a medley of lentils and vegetables) and khatta (chutney made from tomatoes, jaggery and dates).
The foundation, in coordination with the district administration, set up a specialised stall with a live kitchen near Gundicha Temple in Puri and provided its services with the support of 100 volunteers.
“We made all efforts to feed the needy and vulnerable who come from various parts of the country to participate in this festival. We are grateful to Lord Jagannath for giving us the opportunity to serve his devotees,” said Shallu Jindal.
“In this huge pool of crowds, getting quality food is a challenge. We are thankful to JSP Foundation for providing hot cooked meals,” said Soren Munda, who came with his family from Jharkhand’s Singhbhum.
The foundation distributed 6,000 glucose packets among devotees on Rath Yatra day.
To assist various frontline government officers, employees and volunteers, the foundation provided 700 raincoats to the district administration.
The foundation deployed two chilled drinking water vans of 1000 litre capacity each for distribution drinking water among devotees and also provided 70 bio toilets for use by devotees during the festival.
President & Group Head (CSR) of Jindal Steel & Power Prashant Kumar Hota thanked the district administration, state government, Puri Bus Owners’ Association and local youths for the success of food service during Rath Yatra.
