Free meal scheme set to cross 1 crore mark today

According to data from the Corporation, more than 90.56 lakh meals were distributed to the beneficiaries till Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday alone, more than 21 lakh meals were distributed.

“On an average, close to 7 lakh persons are receiving food from the Corporation thrice every day. We would supply another 7 lakh food as dinner on Thursday. We will cross the one crore meals mark on Friday morning,” an official said.

In a move to compensate for the loss of livelihood of the people living in slum areas during recent rains, the Corporation had announced the scheme on Saturday and started distributing food from Sunday. The civic body will distribute free food till Sunday (December 13).

There are around 5.3 lakh families (or 26 lakh individuals) living in slum areas within the city. There are more than 800 notified slum areas in Chennai.

The official added that the number of slum dwellers receiving food from the civic body is lesser than their total number as free food is being distributed only to the persons who are interested in receiving. “We have set up kitchens close to slum areas so that the cooked food can be distributed on time,” the official added. However, some slum dwellers complained that the food prepared by the civic body was insufficient and several persons could not receive food.