The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, JULY 01, 2023
JSP Foundation, the social Arm of Jindal Steel & Power, served devotees during Rath Yatra in the pilgrim city of Puri with freshly cooked food, chilled drinking water and glucose packets.
Under the guidance of its Chairperson Shallu Jindal, the Foundation provided freshly cooked food, chilled drinking water and glucose packets to devotees from Netrotsav 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 (a chutney made from tomatoes, jiggery and dates). In coordination with the district administration, the Foundation set up a specialized stall with a live kitchen near Sri Gundicha Temple in Puri and continued its services with the support of 100 volunteers.
Paying her obeisance to Lord Jagannath, JSP Foundation Chairperson Shallu Jindal said, “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.”
“In this huge pool of crowds, getting quality food was a challenge. We are thankful to the JSP Foundation for providing hot cooked meals. Many people like me are very happy to have this food,” said Soren Munda, who had come with his family from Singhbhum, Jharkhand.
The Foundation also distributed 6000 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 also deployed two chilled drinking water vans of 1000-liter capacity each for distribution of drinking water among the devotees. It also provided 70 bio toilets to the district administration for use by devotees during the festival.
Jindal Steel & Power President & Group Head (CSR) Prashant Kumar Hota thanked the Puri district administration, Odisha government, Puri Bus Owners’ Association and local youths for the success of this grand food service during Rath Yatra. “Serving 10.5 lakh meals in 12 days is a mammoth task. But the inspiration of our Chairman Shri Naveen Jindal and JSP Foundation Chairperson Smt. Shallu Jindal could make it possible. We are thankful to the District Administration for providing facilitative support,” he said.
