Feeding the hungry at Ambala hospital

Nitish Sharma

Roti Bank, an NGO, is providing meals free of cost five times a day to indoor patients and one of their attendants at the Civil Hospital at Ambala Cantonment. It started the service by providing dinner to patients and their attendants at the hospital in 2017. 

Health Minister Anil Vij inaugurated Roti Bank on March 15, 2017. The NGO started with a group of 11 members, and it now has a team of over 100 people.

Around 20 to 25 volunteers of the NGO, according to the duties assigned, start with serving morning tea at 7 am. They then provide breakfast, lunch, and evening tea and later dinner around 7 pm. Soup is served to heart patients and seriously ill persons separately, as per the recommendation of the dietitian.

The NGO has been spending Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per month.

Vinay Mehta, general secretary of the NGO, says, “Roti Bank was started with serving dinner to indoor patients only but later the service was gradually expanded. At present, patients and one of their attendants are served tea and meals five times a day. Initially, to provide fresh and hygienic food, a kitchen was set up in a separate quarter on the hospital premises but later the hospital provided us space on the fourth floor from where we operate now”.

Raman Gupta, president of Roti Bank, says, “We had observed that a large number of people come to the Civil Hospital from far off places. They face a lot of difficulties in arranging food. With the help of Health Department officials, a diet chart is prepared for patients and they are provided food, as per the instructions”.

In the beginning, a few members of the Lions Club launched the initiative of ‘Roti Bank Ambala’, but later people from other organisations, clubs, and individuals also joined them. On an average, food for 200 to 250 people is prepared every day in the in-house kitchen.

Mehta says, “Around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh is being spent on food. Members make a yearly contribution to the cause. Besides, local donors have also been supporting the NGO and as a result, we have been serving people successfully”.

General members contribute Rs 5,500 every year while the 19 governing body members contribute Rs 11,000 each every year.  

On January 25, Roti Bank and the Cantonment Board Ambala started a community kitchen for the poor and the needy at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Market. Mehta says, “The kitchen at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Market can prepare lunch for around 100 people at a time and gradually the facility will be expanded to cater to 200 people. The needy will be given lunch free of cost”.

Though the NGO has appointed cooks for preparing food, in their absence, women from the families of NGO members take the charge of the kitchen.

Dr Satish Kumar, Senior Medical Officer of the Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantonment, says, “Roti Bank has a dedicated team and it has been providing hygienic and good quality food to patients, as per the diet plan given and the norms of the hospital. A special protein-based diet, including eggs and cheese, is also provided, as per the instructions of the dietitian. Doctors regularly check the quality of food. Besides, food is also provided to other people on demand”.