DK Muslim Association' launched to help bereaved Muslim families

Bengaluru, Apr 4: As calamity struck the nation in the form of coronavirus, many philanthropists have generously opened their wallets to sustain the urban poor, especially the migrant labourers in the city and elsewhere in Karnataka.

These individuals either directly or through organisations opened up their kitchens to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry in this distressing time.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the nodal agency to feed urban poor, responded positively to requests by these organisations and individuals to supply food to the needy on their behalf.

"We had been serving food through our Indira canteens, which we continue to do even now. However, many philanthropists and corporates have come forward to feed the needy," the BBMP joint commissioner Sarfaraz Khan told reporters.

According to BBMP, Indira canteens used to provide two lakh meals a day on normal occasions.

However, since the lockdown has been clamped, the number swelled by almost 50 per cent.

"On Thursday alone, we served 2.85 lakh food, which comprises breakfast, lunch and breakfast," a Palike officer said.

The major aid came from Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) and Azim Premji Foundation.

While JITO is feeding around 22,000 people, Azim Premji Foundation is taking care of 20,000 people.

Sajjanraj Mehta, an office bearer of JITO, told reporters that his organisation has been providing packaged cooked food since March 27.

"We got in touch with Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao and the BBMP commissioner B H Anil Kumar. According to their list, 27,000 food packets were required daily," Mehta told.

The JITO members have arranged vehicles of their respective businesses to transport food packets to different locations as part of the campaign named as 'COVID-19 manav seva'.

The organisation has also decided to utilise the kitchen of Princess Golf, a marriage hall on Palace Grounds here to prepare food.

Palike officials said on Thursday alone JITO supplied 53,000 meals.

"We asked them to cover migrant labourers in those areas where Indira Canteen could not reach. We mapped the cluster and provided them info. Now, they are distributing it there," they said.

Another organisation engaged in charitable work is ISKCON Bengaluru.

Ever since the lockdown, it has been working in various parts of India providing food to various people.

"We are providing materials such as rice, wheat flour, Daal, oil, vegetables with long shelf life, salt, sugar and spices. Each packet can sustain for at least 21 days," Madhu Pandit Dasa, president of ISKCON Bengaluru.

The organisation has set a target to cover at least two lakh people but so far it has reached out to 30,000 people including 25,000 in Bengaluru alone.

"We are feeding about 50,000 people in Delhi, with the Telangana government we are feeding about 40,000 people in Hyderabad, about 10,000 people in Ahmedabad in association with the Gujarat government," Dasa told.

According to BBMP, other organisations providing food to the needy are KMFY, TVS Group, Vimal Bhandari, Radisson Blue Atria Hotel, Hitech Ecowood, Mohammed Shajid, Prestige Group.

Wipro Ltd also pitched in to feed the poor by opening up its industrial kitchen infrastructure.

In a statement, Global Head- Operations of the company Hariprasad Hegde said the humanitarian crisis we are faced with as part of the Covid-19 crisis has multiple dimensions to it, of which the need to deliver cooked meals to the stranded migrant workers and other vulnerable communities is probably the most critical and immediate one.

Recognising this, Wipro has decided to use the industrial kitchen infrastructure in our facilities to provide cooked meals, he said.

This kicked off on April 2 with the delivery of 43,000 meals from our Bangalore facility in Kodathi to the government.

"We have made use of our own procurement logistics to source the food provisions. This is a collaborative process, with the government taking responsibility for the logistics of last mile delivery to the communities that need it the most,” he said.

In the case of Bangalore, the Karnataka government has come forward to provide this kind of complementary delivery support. We are reaching out to other state governments and local administrations for similar efforts." he said.

Bengaluru, May 25: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday greeted the Muslim brethren on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is being celebrated in a subdued manner due to coronavirus related restrictions.

"Warm greetings of Eid-ul-Fitr. May this festival of peace and harmony bring happiness in life," Yediyurappa said in his message.

He congratulated the Muslim fraternity for cooperating with the authorities by offering prayers at home during the holy month of Ramadan and supporting the government to contain COVID-19.

"I hope the same trend will continue during the festivities of Eid-ul-Fitr too. I thank you all for your support in the fight against COVID-19," he said.

The Eid festivities were a low-key affair as Muslim brethren celebrated the festival indoors in view of lockdown to contain coronavirus on Monday.

People offered the special prayers inside their houses instead of performing it in mosques and Eidgah, the open field to perform prayers, and refrained from going out to greet each other.

As the Karnataka government has ordered Sunday Curfew throughout the lockdown-4 till May 31, the otherwise bustling markets in the urban areas of Karnataka remained shut.

People could not venture out to make necessary purchases on Sunday.

The Jama Masjid of Bengaluru at the City Market had asked the Muslims to offer prayers inside their houses and not go to the burial grounds to express their sentiments for the departed souls.

"Mass prayers are not allowed anywhere in Karnataka. Just five important persons managing the mosques offered the prayers. Similarly, people go to the graveyard to pray for the dead ones but this time we asked people to express their sentiments from inside their homes instead of going to the burial grounds," Maulana Maqsood Imran, the Khateeb-O-Imam, Jama Masjid, Bengaluru, told news agency.

He said, "coronavirus is spreading very rapidly in our country. If we don't follow the guidelines, it will not only cause trouble to us but also to the doctors and the government. It will be the biggest celebration if we abide by the norms."

Mangaluru, Apr 22: Iftar parties, Taraweeh and weekly Friday prayers in mosques have been banned in the district during Ramadan amid Coronavirus theat, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said here on Wednesday.

In a release issued here, she said, “As per the guidelines issued by the State government and Wakf Board, arranging Iftar gathering, and offering Taraveeh Namaz and Friday Namaz at mosques or dargas during the month of Ramadan has been prohibited as a precaution measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Therefore, offer prayers at homes instead of going to mosques," the DC said.

“No one can perform Namaz in the mosques except the muezzin and the Pesh imam and the staff of the mosque. Also, gathering neighbors and offering collective prayers at anybody's home is also not allowed. Masjid administration committees must follow the directives of the government, Wakf Board and the District Administration”, the DC urged.