more-in On Monday Periasamy took an early morning bus from Samayanallur to admit his wife in the cancer ward of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH). The doctor prepared him for tough times ahead but he couldn’t quite comprehend the gravity of the situation. He hung around the ward for six hours on empty stomach – worried, tired and dehydrated. An attendant of another patient took pity and guided him to the asbestos covered space between the new oncology Centre and the old maternity ward where youth volunteers were distributing food. Malai Raj, working in private marketing company, comes here whenever he is in town. Bank manager Karthick drops in most days like the two students of Mangayarkarasi Engineering College and Senthil a car mechanic in Keezhathurai comes daily along with NGO Palakarangal founder Alima Banu Sikkandhar and volunteer Chitra. They all reach GRH by 12.30 p.m. to help in distributing the food, which arrives in large steel utensils 10 minutes before they do. Men and women queue up and have to show their Attenders pass before getting two large ladles of rice on the butter-paper covered plate. Each day there is variety rice with some pickle or one vegetable which people either eat there or just bundle up the butter paper and take it away. On Monday, it was curd rice and Periasamy ate half of what was served and kept the balance for dinner. He said he was not sure when his wife would recover and return home to cook for him again. He had no money either. There are many more like him who walk into GRH daily with their loved ones requiring treatment. If and when the patient is admitted, it gets difficult for the attendant who accompanies. According to a survey done by Palakarangal, on an average 10,000 people come to GRH daily and 30 to 40 patients get admitted everyday to the 32 departments functioning in the hospital. There are three canteens inside and two-dozen low-budget eateries around the hospital. The Amma Unavagam within the campus daily sells 1,800 idlis and 300 plates of curd and sambar rice each at subsidised rates. A hunger mapping was done to find that there were still at least 960 people left who could not afford food. “Mostly driven by poverty and unemployment these are out-station families whose kith and kin are admitted to cancer, gynaecology, cardiology and HIV wards with a stay period of five days to one month,” points out Alima. It was pure coincidence that while she was looking for ways to feed the hungry, she met Assistant Collector Vishnu Chandran, who too was dabbling with a similar idea and was on the look out for NGO partners. “I was impressed by Dulquer Salman’s Ustad Hotel which was loosely based on an inspiring story about a rich guy feeding the destitutes on the streets of Madurai and when I got posted here, I thought of implementing the same,” says Chandran. He planned a corpus fund with donations from officers and later do crowdsourcing. “When Palakarangal responded with enthusiasm, we partnered with them to make a beginning four months ago.” Since Madurai is the food capital of Tamil Nadu, the then Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri suggested a tie up with the hotels and restaurants in the city and turn food insecurity into a public movement. Till there is more public support and the project starts receiving funds, the idea was to request customers to donate Rs.50 each time they go out to eat in the 1500-odd hotels and restaurants affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Hotels Association in Madurai. As a transparent corporation initiative, an account was opened in Canara Bank to enable people to also donate directly to the Pasi Illah Madurai (PIM) account or pay with PayTm App or Airtel’s recharge number. “Contributions are trickling in”, says Dr.Aneesh Sekar, the new Corporation Commissioner. We are planning to promote PIM with more bill boards and posters across the city, panels behind public transport and stalls in malls and other prominent places. . “Peoples’ support and a transparent food system are quintessential to eliminate hunger. When people are confident that the money they are donating is channelized properly, they will support the cause better,” he adds. Alima, who coined the project name, says they got lucky because Sri Meenakshi Caterers committed to supply food for 12 months now. “Meanwhile we will try to build up resources by making people aware of the project,” she adds. “Annadanam is mahadanam and the easiest and simplest way to charity is to donate food,” says Chandran. He has done a complete hunger mapping of the entire city and as more help comes in, more spots like the bus stands, railway stations and pavements will also be covered under the project. Though ‘Rs.50 will feed two’ is the tag line, the idea is to also loop in corporates and big donors to reach out to a larger section of the under-privileged. At GRH now, on an average 350 to 500 people turn up every afternoon and the food sent is sufficient. “Days we distribute curd rice, crowd is little less. But when there is vegetable biriyani, word spreads and more people come,” says Alima. But Periasamy said Monday’s plate of curd rice will stay in his heart for ever. QUOTE: “On way to work, the sight of people by roadside disturbed me. In memory of my parents, I have been distributing 50 food packets among the physically challenged at the Collectorate every Monday. At the Government Hospital too I was distributing 50 packets daily on my own till I heard about Pasi Illah Madurai launched in April this year and decided to donate 500 food packets daily. From August I will increase it to 1,000 food packets daily.” -- A.M.Ramakrishnan, Sri Meenakshi Caterers (This column will feature human inspiring stories from Madurai and surroundings. E-mail soma.basu@thehindu.co.in to tell her about people you know who are silently working to make a difference in your respective areas)

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