Free food points: A blessing of poor, needy

Rawalpindi: A large number of jobless and needy people could be seen roaming around the points where free of cost meal is distributed in routine. However, with the rising number of individuals visiting such spots, the situation has also become difficult for the organisers who are facing shortage of food items due to inflation.

“We haven’t had any work for a week so every day all of us go to the Jamia Masjid Road to eat once a day,” Muhammad Gufran, Jalil Ahmed, Muhammad Nazir and Ejaz Ahmed told ‘The News’ here on Sunday.

The empty pocket labourers said that such kinds of points where free of cost meal is distributed is the last ray of hope for them where they could eat a meal without money. We come here in the state of poverty, not only eating food here but also take it with us for other family members as well, they said.

Muhammad Saddar-ud-Din, owner of a hotel at Jamia Masjid Road said that he was serving free of cost meal for over 50 years. The philanthropists are bringing food items here at my hotel to distribute it among poor people. There was enough food for poor but I am facing the worst shortage of food for two years because the numbers of jobless and hungry people are rising to an alarming proportion, he said. “Not only poor but people belonging to middle-class families also come here to take free of cost food now,” he claimed.

Munir Ahmed, a labourer who also had no work for two weeks said, “We don’t have any other option, so we eat lunch at the point where free of cost meal is distributed. Sometimes people go to the ‘darbaars’ when food is distributed there,” he said.

Not only men but a large number of ladies are also taking three times meal from such spots. Talking to this scribe, several women including Yasmeen Bibi, Musarrat Bibi, Bano Bibi, Kausar Bibi, Nasreen Bibi etc said that they were facing a quite tough time. It is difficult to run our kitchen because all food items are selling at skyrocketing prices and they can’t afford them anymore. How could buy we these food items without money, they said.