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Modi serves Akshaya Patra’s 3 billionth meal
By Nivedita Singh
Vrindavan, Feb 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday served food to school children here, including the third billionth meal by the Akshaya Patra Foundation at the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir campus.
The Bengaluru-based foundation, incepted in 2000, serves wholesome school lunch to over 1.76 million children in 14,702 schools across 12 states in India, according to its website.
Modi also unveiled a ceremonial plaque to mark the serving of “third billionth meal” by Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, local MP Hema Malini, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Ministers Shrikant Sharma, Lamxi Narayan Chaudhary and Anupama Jaiswal were present at the event.
In an attack on previous governments for what he said was slow work in the field of child nourishment, vaccination and cleanliness, Modi underlined that not much success was gained in past.
In the past 55 months, the central government had been serving children and mothers for their nourishment and health.
“Be it arrangements for child nourishment, vaccination and cleanliness, it is not that the topic was not discussed earlier. All these aspects were discussed… Several schemes were also launched. But not much success was gained in the past.”
He also said that countries with fewer facilities were ahead of India in these fields.
“To end this situation, we since 2014 have been working with new strategies in the field of vaccination, cleanliness and child nourishment and decided to conduct these on a mission mode.”
Speaking about Mission Indradhanush, he said over 3 crore 40 lakh children and 90 lakh mothers had been vaccinated since the launch of the scheme.
The concept of serving of food in schools — midday meal — was an old concept, he said.
“We are ensuring that children will get enough clean and nutritious food,” he said.
(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.