Punjab Police distributes 1.5 lakh dry food packets to needy

Steps up door-to-door delivery efforts for citizens

Chandigarh, March 26  (Punjab Post Bureau) – The Punjab Police on Thursday intensified relief operations across the curfew-locked state, with more than 41000 of its personnel on the ground distributing more than 1,50,000 dry food packets in the past 36 hrs to those in need, along with door-to-door delivery of essentials to citizens in all the districts.

            The total number of food packets distributed to the needy so far is over 1.5 lakhs, said DGP Dinkar Gupta, adding that to further facilitate the general public in meeting their essential needs and coping with medical emergencies, an e-Pass facility for Covid-19 curfew has been launched.

            Also, the helpline number 112 has been converted to Curfew Helpline, and it will now respond to, and deal with, all curfew-related problems, said the DGP, appealing to people to contact the police for all emergencies arising out of the clampdown.

            On the relief operations conducted by the police teams across districts, the DGP said that last 24 hrs a total of more than 130000+ packets have been distributed all over to the needy people in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Barnala, Bathinda, Moga, and other districts. Around 14,300 food packets have been distributed in the past three days by Tarn Taran Police. They have coordinated with all major gurudwaras in Goindwal Sahib, Chohla Sahib, Jhabhal and Bhikiwind, as well as many local gurudwaras, and all GOs, SHOs and I/c PPs are distributing these packets in different areas, following social distancing norms, he added.

More people would be reached via the emergency helplines, Dinkar said, adding that some individuals had also come forward to help in this effort.

The DGP said the door-to-door drive to distribute 10 lakh packets of dry rations to daily wagers & unorganised labour, as announced by the Chief Minister, will commence tomorrow.

While this facility has been extended to facilitate free movement of essential goods and services and also to help citizens in emergency, the DGP warned that any citizen found misusing or misrepresenting this pass or using it beyond the validity shall be liable for strict action under the rules. The public are advised to keep the pass handy either in printed form or on their smart phone for verification by police as and when required, he added.

In the process of distribution, the police teams have identified a large number of slum dwellers in all districts, and managed to cover almost every area with food packets & dry rations, said Gupta, adding that they expected to cover all major and minor parts of the cities soon. The police force has also tied up with NGOs other organisations that have expressed willingness to provide food packets, and are giving them logistic help, he added.