Team Khaana Chahiye has distributed 22 lakh meals to people across Mumbai

The hapless state of the poor and destitute in India in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic is a tragic story. People are dying of hunger. Migrant workers are walking across states to reach home. In short, it is a dismal sight as the nationwide lockdown, imposed to contain the spread of the new virus, has come at a heavy price.

There is no doubt about the fact that the grim reality of the state of the country at the moment is disturbing. But, in the midst of such a catastrophe, Maharashtra has been blessed enough to find its messiah in a group of young volunteers, who are going from soup to nuts to ensure that the needy are catered to.

This group of young volunteers in Mumbai launched an initiative called Khaana Chahiye on March 29 to serve food to the poor and needy amid the nationwide lockdown. Over the past 50 days, team Khaana Chahiye has distributed 22 lakh meals to people across the Maharashtra capital and will continue to do so till India is under lockdown irrespective of the continuous extensions.

Ruben Mascarenhas, one of the co-founders of Khaana Chahiye, discussed the aim of the initiative during an interview.

“When the lockdown was announced at first, we got a lot of information about people going hungry. Economic activities came to a grinding halt while the poor and the homeless were the worst affected due to the lockdown. So, we started off with 1200 meals on the Western Express Highway and expanded to other routes such as the Eastern Express Highway, Link Road and SV Road in Mumbai,” Ruben Mascarenhas told